The highest court in France is expected to rule today whether six inmates in New Caledonia should be freed because they are in a substandard prison.
The six are on remand in Noumea's Camp Est for their role in last August's fatal clashes on Mare.
Their bid to be released was rejected by the appeal court in New Caledonia which prompted their lawyer to take the case to France.
He claims that under the European human rights convention it is unacceptable and degrading to give an inmate less than seven square meters of cell space.
In Noumea, the six are held in a 12 square meter cell.
Two months ago, a French inspector found that the jail conditions amounted to a serious violation of basic rights.
