A sentence enforcement judge ordered the transfer of 54-year-old robber Rédoine Faïd from the Alençon-Condé-sur-Sarthe penitentiary centre due to unworthy detention conditions. According to information reported by Le Parisien, the ruling issued on Friday, August 7, required his relocation to another facility before August 24. However, prosecutors immediately appealed the decision, suspending its implementation pending a review within two months.
Faïd has been incarcerated for 15 years and held at the facility in the Orne department since October 2025. In the court order consulted by Le Parisien, the magistrate noted some progress since a previous ruling on May 15, 2026. These improvements included better access to walks and the use of videoconferencing to maintain family ties and facilitate judicial procedures.
Despite those changes, the magistrate highlighted persistent deprivations, including restrictions on telephone calls, ongoing difficulty maintaining family links, and a lack of effective access to sports, work, training, or cultural activities. The judge concluded that these major deficiencies rendered his transfer inevitable. This action marks Faïd's third legal appeal regarding similar detention conditions.
Criminal history and prison escapes
Faïd was first convicted in the 1990s and earned the nickname the king of escape. After his release in 2009, he promised to leave criminality behind. However, his criminal career took a tragic turn in 2010 during the robbery of an armoured van in which municipal police officer Aurélie Fouquet was killed, leading to his arrest the following year.
In 2013, Faïd escaped from the Sequedin prison in Nord by detonating explosives at the prison doors before being recaptured a few weeks later. While serving a 25-year prison sentence, he escaped again in 2018 when an armed commando freed him by helicopter from the courtyard of the Réau prison in Seine-et-Marne, triggering a three-month manhunt.
Future release date and additional sentences
In January 2025, authorities placed Faïd in police custody on suspicion of planning another escape. Reporting by TF1 and LCI detailed an escape project involving a suspect named Isabelle and a folded newspaper.
Following his last escape, courts sentenced Faïd to an additional 14 years in prison. His earliest possible release date is currently set for August 17, 2057, at which point he will be 85 years old.
