French prisoners get on bikes to go straight

A PACK of French convicts are taking to the road to cycle the inaugural Prison Tour de France a two-week, 2,204 kilometres trek across the country.

Around 200 prisoners will be accompanied by jailers, police escorts and support vehicles in their journey through the vineyards of Provence, the Mediterranean coast, and the Alps. “It is a beautiful gift they’re giving me,” said one inmate at a prison in Montmedy, near Luxembourg.

“It’s the icing on the cake,” he said. He is scheduled for release two months from now.