Prison Juliette-Dodu, Historical prison in Saint-Denis, France.
Prison Juliette-Dodu is a former prison on Rue Juliette-Dodu, one of the busiest shopping streets in Saint-Denis, the capital of La Réunion. The building is two stories tall with pale, weathered pinkish-beige render; its corner wall shows irregular grey patches of damaged plaster and dark graffiti near the ground. Two blue street-name plaques, "Rue Jean Jaurès" above and "Rue Auguste Blanqui" below, are fixed high on the corner, and coils of razor wire run along the top edge of the adjoining sections.
The facility began in 1718 as a detention block within the Governor's Palace and was transformed into a dedicated prison in 1771. It remained in operation until 2008, when inmates were transferred to a new penitentiary.
The street and the prison carry the name Juliette-Dodu, after a woman of that name; the sources do not identify her as a Resistance fighter. Since the December 2008 closure, a "Collectif pour la mémoire de la prison Juliette-Dodu" has campaigned for a memorial space within the redevelopment project. The corner wall at Rue Jean Jaurès and Rue Auguste Blanqui still shows graffiti and patched render.
The location is no longer active and has not been fully opened to the public since its closure. Visitors should check in advance whether guided tours or special visiting programs are available.
Archaeological excavations revealed four ancient walls made from volcanic stone, with one structure absent from existing maps. This unidentified construction raises questions about the original layout and how the grounds were actually used.
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