diff --git a/mesonpy/__init__.py b/mesonpy/__init__.py
index 48b53a7a3..ec1ae39a0 100644
--- a/mesonpy/__init__.py
+++ b/mesonpy/__init__.py
@@ -285,6 +285,8 @@ def entrypoints_txt(self) -> bytes:
     @property
     def _debian_python(self) -> bool:
         """Check if we are running on Debian-patched Python."""
+        if sys.version_info >= (3, 10):
+            return 'deb_system' in sysconfig.get_scheme_names()
         try:
             import distutils
             try: