A COMPARISON OF DATA ON SUICIDE WITHIN PRISONS AND OUTSIDE OF PRISON ESTABLISHED THAT THE FREQUENCY OF SUICIDE WAS CLEARLY STRONGER AMONG THE PRISONERS: FROM A RATE OF 0.6 SUICIDES PER 1,000 MALE MEMBERS OF THE PRISON POPULATION IN 1970-1971, THE RATIO AT THE PEAK OF THE CRISIS REACHED 2 DEATHS PER 1,000 PRISONERS (47 SUICIDES OUT OF AN AVERAGE PENAL POPULATION OF 27,000). THIS MAXIMUM FIGURE REPRESENTS EIGHT TIMES MORE SUICIDES IN PRISON THAN FOR THE TOTAL MALE POPULATION OF FRANCE. ALTHOUGH A DECREASE WAS OBSERVED IN 1976, THE RATE OF SUICIDES IN PRISONS REMAINS DOUBLE THE USUAL FREQUENCY DURING PREVIOUS PERIODS. THE STATISTICS FURTHER SHOW THAT, IN 1975, 1.4 DEATHS PER 1,000 PRISONERS WERE FRENCHMEN, WHILE 3.2 PER 1,000 CONSISTED OF FOREIGNERS DETAINED IN FRENCH PRISONS. THE PEAK IN 1975 WAS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE INCREASED SUICIDE RATE AMONG FOREIGN PRISONERS DURING THAT YEAR. AN INCREASE WAS ALSO SEEN IN THE RATE OF SUICIDE OR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE AMONG YOUNG PRISONERS (BELOW 30 YEARS OLD); IN COMPARISON WITH YOUNG MEN OF THE SAME AGE GROUP ON THE OUTSIDE, ATTEMPTED SUICIDES WERE 5 TIMES MORE FREQUENT AMONG YOUNG PRISONERS, AND THEY WERE 3 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO RESULT IN DEATH. THE RATE OF ATTEMPTED SUICIDES WAS FOUR TIMES GREATER AMONG ACCUSED PERSONS THAN AMONG THOSE ALREADY CONVICTED; THE CORRESPONDING SUICIDE RATE WAS TWO TO ONE. THE AUTHORS ATTRIBUTE THIS DIFFERENCE TO THE ABRUPT SHOCK OF FIRST-TIME INCARCERATION AND TO THE ACCUSED PERSON'S UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE DURATION OF DETENTION. CONCERNING METHOD, HANGING AND STRANGULATION ACCOUNTED FOR 85 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL DEATHS AND WERE LIKELY TO RESULT IN DEATH FOR ONE-QUARTER OF ALL ATTEMPTED SUICIDES. SUPPORTING STATISTICS ARE PRESENTED IN TABULAR FORM. --IN FRENCH