1830s: Under public pressure, French legislators reformed prisons to some extent. They abolished some of the more barbaric forms of punishment that were practiced under the Ancien Regime, such as torture and hanging, and offered education for petty offenders.

1850s: As a result of unemployment caused by industrialization, crime rates rose in France and the prison population increased Inmates were not allowed to speak to each other Riots and suicides took place in prisons.

Today: Due in part to poor economic conditions in France, prison populations are on the rise again, with an increase in the number of convicts serving time for drug-related crimes. With a prison population that is steadily increasing, overcrowding is a problem, and many inmates find themselves sharing a cell with as many as five other prisoners.

1830s: France was beginning to become an industrialized nation, a process that would...