Bagne

Bagne (Ital. bagno, bath; the term was first used for a prison in or near a bath at Constantinople), the French term for a convict prison. Introduced instead of the galleys (q.v.) at the Revolution, their use is now superseded by transportation (adopted 1851), usually to New Caledonia. The last were at Toulon, Rochefort, and Brest. A few "cellular prisons" for convicts exist in France; there is a penal settlement in Corsica, and a depot at the Ile de Re for those awaiting transportation.