The chainlocking of convicts

Between 1665 and 1836, the chain system was used to transport convicts from the prisons where they were held to the port prisons (Toulon, Brest, Rochefort or Lorient).
The shackling ceremony, in the courtyard of Bicêtre, inaugurates the physical suffering of the shackling, followed by the harsh conditions of the journey. Several times a year, the chain left Bicêtre for Toulon, Brest, Rochefort or Lorient. Escorted by around twenty guards or “argousins”, the prisoners were bound by an iron collar and grouped in “cordons” of 24 to 26 men. They covered the journey on foot, by cart or even by boat (on the Rhône) in around 5 weeks. The convoy grew in size as it progressed, reaching 300 to 400 convicts, and even 600 during the most intensely repressive period.