The Contrôleur général must emphasise the great distress in which persons deprived of liberty suffering from disorders of sexual identity continue to live. Apart from the uncertainties to which provision of medical care for them is subject, their life in prison is ful l of bullying of all kinds and daily problems of living attributable to their difference. These difficulties can lead to suicides, as was the case in August 2012. 4.3 The application of the “Closed Doors” Regime to the Whole of the Prisoners of Long-Stay Prisons and long-stay Prison Wings On 28th June 2012 the Contrôleur général took up the matter of the closing of cell doors in two wings of a long-stay prison with the director of the prisons administration department. One of these two wings had until then operated for many years under an open doors regime. The closing of cell doors was begun on the basis of a decision taken in 2003 by the Minister of Justice, aimed at the systematic closing of doors in long-stay prisons. It emerges from the facts ascertained by the teams of inspectors at the time of inspections of long-stay prisons that the application of this instruction in 2003 was very clearly made more flexible in the interests of both prisoners and staff, who acknowledge that strict implementation of the closed doors regime does not completely fulfil its declared goal, which is to guarantee security, because of the amount of tension that it generates, which increases exponentially with regard to persons serving long sentences. Moreover, the testimonies received show that it results in even greater isolation of vulnerable persons, since the latter inevitably find themselves living as recluses in their cells. Furthermore, the application of a programme of this kind, which imposes systematic closing of doors, poses questions of legality, in view of the provisions of the Prisons Act of 24 th November 2009 in particular. Although article D.71 of the code of criminal procedure, which results from a decree of 20th March 2003, provides that “long-stay prisons and long-stay prison wings have a tightened security organisation and regime”, article 717-1 of the same code provides that the prison regime for persons in custody “is determined taking their personality, health, dangerousness and efforts in terms of social rehabilitation into account”. This is the legal foundation of differentiated regimes, the principle of which is based upon the adaptation of prison regimes to individuals, establishing them in application of article 89 of the Prisons Act, which means that a single prison regime cannot be collectively applied to a prison population as a whole. No legal provisions exclude the application of these provisions to prisoners in long-stay prisons. The pursued objective of protection of vulnerable persons does not appear incompatible with the implementation of differentiated regimes within long-stay prisons, although it certainly places an obligation upon management and staff for greater vigilance and regular reassessment of the situation of each individual prisoner. In reply to the Contrôleur général, the director of the prisons administration department pointed out that the doctrine of his administration has remained unchanged since 2003 and imposes the “closed doors” system as the only applicable regime within long-stay prisons. He adds: “Although the rule of systematic closing of doors may be made more flexible in certain cases, my departments are instructed to recall the applicable rules and, if necessary, support the institutions concerned in order to re-establish the closed doors regime”. However, the director of the prisons administration department specified that it is not impossible that the implementation of differentiated regimes may eventually be planned for certain long-stay prisons. 4.4 Renewal of Prisoners’ Residence Permits 89