Clairvaux Abbey was founded in 1115 by
Bernard of Clairvaux. In 1789, during the French Revolution, it became property of the State. In 1804,
Napoleon turned it into a prison. This fate was not uncommon for abbeys at the time, as
monastic cells could easily be converted into
prison cells in the absence of monks. The entire complex was converted: the medieval Lay Brothers' Building was converted into a women's prison, while the main abbey was made a men's prison. In 1812, the medieval abbey church was sold off as a quarry by the prison's director; as a result, the director was dismissed and the old refectory was converted into a chapel for prisoners. At its peak, the prison housed over 2,700 inmates, including 500 women and 550 children. Deplorable conditions at the abbey inspired Victor Hugo to write his short story "
Claude Gueux", based on a real prisoner at Clairvaux, in 1834.
1971 revolt In 1971, two convicts,
Claude Buffet and , took a nurse, Nicole Comte, and a prison guard, Guy Girardot, hostage. Buffet subsequently murdered them. Buffet and Bontems were captured. Bontems, whose defence counsel included
Robert Badinter, contended that the murder was Buffet's idea. Buffet said that he wanted death. Both were sentenced to death by the
assize court in June 1972 and were
guillotined. After the revolt, the prison's historic facilities were opened to visitors under the joint administration of the
Ministry of Culture and the
Ministry of Justice, and a more modern facility was constructed adjacent to the abbey buildings.
2006 manifesto On 16 January 2006, several detainees who were serving life sentences in Clairvaux Prison, having each spent from 6 to 28 years in prison, signed a
manifesto denouncing the "false" abolition of the death penalty. They declared that it had resulted in a slow and continuous punishment, a death in life. They called for restoration of the death penalty. The convicts specifically denounced the French Republic which claimed, in accordance with the "advises of the
European Council", that the "enforcing of prison sentences... has been conceived not only to protect society and assure the punishment of the convict, but also to favour his amendment and prepare his
rehabilitation". They stated, "In reality: everything is for the punishment." ==Present day==