Nine health prison detainees presented their presidential program, as if they were candidates for election.
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The desk is in place. The flags of France and the European Union too. Nine presidential candidates are getting ready to speak, but they do not have the faces of those who crisscrossed France for the election campaign. At the health prison, these detainees are candidates the time of a morning only, on the occasion of an eloquence competition co-organized by the prison and the association read to get out. Each inmate has five minutes to convince his audience. This Friday, April 15, a few days before the second round of the presidential election, the theme was necessary for himself: “Me, President”. “This is part of a broader policy that has been led for several months on the work of citizenship and democracy”, details Bruno Clément-Petremann, the director of the establishment.
Dressed in a shirt for the occasion, Imatha advances in the prison gym and settles behind the microphone. He looks for his words. “I think I have so much to say that it’s confused in my head,” admits the 41-year-old man, shy. Support smiles. Fifty people are present: comrades held, members of the association, lawyers, prison staff. Facing Imatha, the jury, chaired by L’Autiver Delphine de Vigan, is responsible for assessing the provision of candidates and the most eloquent designating.
To maximize their chances, participants were accompanied by a team of lawyers and volunteers from the association. “Some came with ideas in mind, others not at all,” says Jean-Nicolas Clément, who took part in the device. For the lawyer, this type of exercise also allows inmates to prepare for the future, whether they are their defense or their exit. “Speaking in public, expressing oneself, putting his ideas in order, it’s useful for them,” he notes. A point of view shared by Alexandre Duval-Stalla, also a lawyer and founding president of reading to get out: “I defended the foundation a number of accused, and oral ease is sometimes complicated.”
Discrimination, reintegration, use
In addition to three preparation workshops, some fed from the news with assiduity, like Harouna. “I read the newspapers, I looked at the TV. Without the contest, maybe I would have changed his chain,” he smiles. His bedside book, which he just just finished: the Word is a combat sport, from Bertrand Périer (JC Lattès, 2017). Before starting his speech, Harouna distributes his program to the members of the jury. Laughs in the gym. He plays the game to the end. He spreads his program in the manner of a slam, having fun with the rhythm of his words, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. He speaks of ecology, smic, europe and reintegration. Nail of the show, he throws a bundle of papers in the air. The visual effect is immediate. “He won, sure he won,” murmurs one of his comrades in the public.
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