Prison M / Pastel Prison, France

Prison M (Pastel Prison) is an abandoned prison in France, that was abandoned in the mid 2000s. We visited this prison during the Belgium / Luxembourg / France September 2017 – The Kolossal Tour. Interestingly, we actually enjoyed a very restful night’s sleep inside this location. Entering under the cover of darkness, and locking ourselves inside some sort of panic room on the upper floor. Additionally, this enabled us to enjoy sunrise, as the light flooded in through the tall windows. Wonderful flaking paint covers the wall, the low light amplifying the texture. Equally the peeling paint reveals a colourful array of pastel colours, reflecting various paint jobs over the decades. Hence the alternative codename, Pastel Prison.

Brief history of Prison M (Pastel Prison)

This site was previously part of a castle, built in the Middle Ages, which belonged to a count of the area. The castle fell into disrepair over the years, and began to crumble and wrench apart. As a result, the castle was demolished and a new town hall was built on the land. Adjacent to this, a new remand centre (Prison M) was built in the mid-1800s. This is the prison we see in these photographs. Inmates were housed here for a short while, before being taken to a penal colony.

Inside Prison M there are fifty individual cells, spread over three floors. At this time, this layout was controversial. Individual cells are expensive, and it was suggested multiple-occupancy dormitories would be more cost-effective. Ultimately, the argument for cells won out in this case.

In the mid-2000s a modern and larger prison was built nearby. Perhaps this was a factor that caused the closure of Prison M, which closed roughly the same time.

There are plans in place to renovate the prison and use it as a community music centre. The building will be enlarged to include a 300-seat auditorium.