Receipt of postal orders sent from outside by close relations and friends of detainees (who often are not very well-off) is subject to difficult procedures, which give rise to loss of time. The representatives of the OFII20 thereby lose time which could be put to better use. In one centre, the OFII may cash postal orders of an amount of less than twenty-four euros; however, postal orders equal to or greater than this amount are cashed by the French national police… Prefectures have to facilitate the sending of money, on the basis of national instructions, by identifying difficulties and, if necessary, entering into the necessary agreements, for example with the Post Office, present throughout French territory as a whole. In the absence of the necessary accounting flexibility, representatives of the OFII do not have funds at their disposal for advancing sums of money required for detainees’ external purchases. Some of them agree to do so from their personal funds. The Agency should put the necessary cash advances in place. In theory, the sale of cigarettes on site is prohibited (but permitted in two centres), due to the provisions of article 568 of the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts). However, this article does not oppose sales made under the control of the French Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (Direction générale des douanes et des droits indirects). Failing which, this provision could be supplemented by an exception in favour of places of deprivation of liberty, and in particular for detention centres for illegal immigrants. A measure of this kind does not appear to be of minor importance. c/ Absence of Activities Once again, attention must indeed be drawn to the notable inadequacy of activities in detention centres as well as to the associated idea that a television, installed in a common room21, with little facility for changing channels, is not enough to make up for the lack of activities. It needs to be repeated that the majority of centres are overflowing with boredom and anxiety. Indisputable considerations are behind this dearth: cases of damage occur. Certain games and activities can be instruments of violence. Thus, for example, the idea of a sports room, the existence of which was possible in the past, was not taken up at the time of the recent rebuilding of some detention centres. Newspapers are never distributed since they can easily be burned. No ball games: the balls are too often lost. Etc. However, should this line of reasoning prevail? The possibility of damage, inevitable in a place of constraint, and the cost and risks thereof need to be balanced with a minimum level of well-being for detainees. The need to protect their dignity here coincides with that, to which the police should be sensitive, of avoiding the building up of frustrations and aggression. The latter may be avoided by greater constraint. The same end can also be achieved by means of suitable preventive measures, of which activities constitute an essential aspect. In one centre, concerning which a report was sent to the minister in 2013, a video games room had been installed, which proved to be an unequivocal success. This constitutes the sole initiative of this kind in the centres inspected. It could be extended. Use should be made of other possibilities, in particular with regard to culture (films etc.), sport, reading and means of expression of all kinds, possibly in partnership with other public or private bodies. Shared national reflection could lay down the basic principles thereof. These need to include the possibility of access, under supervision, to the Internet or, at the very least, to e-mail. 20 French agency in charge of migration and welcoming foreign people (Office français de l’immigration et de l’intégration), responsible for operations of daily life for detainees. 21 At the detention centre of Lyon – Saint-Exupéry, each room has a television. 26