France's new prison regime for drug kingpins shines the spotlight on a possible successor to Macron

They are France 's most dangerous drug kingpins, according to the country's justice minister — prison inmates so wealthy and powerful that even behind bars, they can continue to order assassinations, run narco-trafficking operations and launder money. Flexing his powers as minister in charge of the French penal system, Gérald Darmanin's solution to the problem is contentious. In the newly reinforced Vendin-le-Vieil prison, the selected inmates will be locked in individual cells for 23 hours on most days.