The French prisoner escapes in the prisoner’s bag, employees say

A man escaped from a French prison, hiding in the bag of a prisoner who left prison after serving his sentence, local media officials said.

The prison service has launched an investigation after the man escaped from prison in Lyon Corbas in southeastern France on Friday, according to the television operator BFMTV.

He “takes advantage of the liberation of his prisoner to hide in his luggage and to go out,” the prison service said in a statement to AFP agency.

The French media reported that the escaped prisoner was serving several sentences and was also in an investigation into a case related to organized crime.

The court investigation was also found to be a possible “escape as part of an organized gang and criminal conspiracy”, according to local media.

Last month, the Lyon Attorney Association expressed concern about the overpopulation of Lyon-Corbas prison.

As of May 1, 2025, about 1,200 people were detained in prison, which has a capacity for 678 seats, BFMTV reported.