Since the reform that came into effect on January 1, 2023, the calculation of sentence reduction has profoundly changed for individuals placed under electronic monitoring. Two regimes coexist depending on the date of incarceration, and the practices of the courts continue to evolve. In 2026, new guidelines will modify how judges assess reintegration efforts and sanction violations in a supervised environment.
Electronic monitoring and sentence reduction credits: a regime distinct from traditional detention
Home detention under electronic surveillance (HDES) is not a mere easing of prison. It is based on a contractual framework: the convicted person agrees in writing to wear a transmitter, adheres to presence schedules at home, and commits to a reintegration pathway. Any unauthorized absence triggers an alarm sent to the relevant central monitoring unit.
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This operation directly influences the calculation of sentence reduction for electronic monitoring 2026, because the judge in charge of sentence enforcement has an additional lever compared to traditional incarceration. In detention, violations are assessed based on internal disciplinary criteria. Under electronic monitoring, the notion of respecting the adjustment contract takes precedence.
Since January 2026, several courts of appeal have explicitly justified the withdrawal of sentence reduction credits by the breach of the adjustment contract. The Douai Court of Appeal ruled in this sense on January 22, 2026, in a decision published in the Review of Criminal Science. This legal qualification leads to faster and more comprehensive withdrawals of sentence reduction credits than in traditional detention.
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Additional sentence reductions under electronic surveillance: what the February 2026 circular changes
Additional sentence reductions (ASR) reward the reintegration efforts of the convicted person. Until recently, the valued activities were primarily those carried out in prison: workshop work, vocational training, healthcare follow-up.
The circular from the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration dated February 14, 2026, modifies this approach for individuals under electronic monitoring. It recommends a more nuanced assessment of active participation in a reintegration project, explicitly integrating activities carried out remotely:
- Teleworking from the convicted person’s home is now recognized on par with a traditional salaried job for granting ASR
- Online certified or qualifying training can be taken into account, provided that the probation and reintegration officer (CPIP) certifies effective follow-up
- Individual entrepreneurship from home falls within the scope of valuable reintegration efforts
This circular, mentioned in the annual report of the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty 2025-2026, marks a turning point. It acknowledges that electronic monitoring creates conditions for reintegration that differ from detention, and that the evaluation must adapt accordingly.
Withdrawal of credits under electronic monitoring: still heterogeneous judicial practices
The evaluation report of the sentence reduction reform 2023-2025, submitted by the General Inspectorate of Justice to the Minister of Justice in December 2025, highlighted significant geographical disparities. Courts do not all apply the same criteria for withdrawing or maintaining sentence reduction credits for individuals under electronic monitoring.
In some jurisdictions, a single alarm trigger without legitimate reason is enough to initiate a total withdrawal procedure of the ASR. In others, the judge in charge of sentence enforcement conducts a comprehensive assessment of behavior over the duration of the measure before ruling. The available data do not yet allow for a uniform doctrine across the territory.
This heterogeneity poses a concrete problem for the convicted individuals and their lawyers. The projected calculation of the release date varies depending on the competent court, making online simulators very approximate when it comes to adjustments under electronic monitoring.
Frequent errors in estimating the release date
The online calculation tools apply the theoretical maximum of sentence reduction credits. They do not take into account the nature of the adjustment or local practices. For a person under electronic monitoring, several factors can modify the actual duration of the sentence:
- The partial or total withdrawal of ASR in case of failure to meet time obligations, even if occasional
- The lack of recognition of reintegration activities if they are not documented by the CPIP
- The applicable security period, which blocks any reduction until it is served
- Periods already spent under incarceration (pre-trial detention, other HDES) in the same case, the allocation of which depends on the applicable regime
Lawyer and judge in charge of sentence enforcement: an increased role in monitoring electronic monitoring
With the coexistence of two regimes of sentence reduction (before and after January 1, 2023), the role of the lawyer in monitoring the execution of the sentence has been strengthened. Identifying the correct applicable regime is a prerequisite for any calculation. An error on this point can lead to distorted estimates of several months.
The judge in charge of sentence enforcement retains an individual assessment power over the granting and withdrawal of credits. The February 2026 circular does not create an automatic right to ASR for remote activities: it establishes an evaluation framework that the magistrate remains free to apply according to the circumstances.
For convicted individuals under electronic monitoring, compiling a file that precisely documents the reintegration efforts (employment certificates, training certificates, healthcare receipts) remains the best strategy to maximize sentence reductions. An undocumented sentence reduction credit is a credit that can be refused, regardless of the applicable regime.