Bonnot Gang

The Bonnot Gang (La Bande à Bonnot) was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the late Belle Époque, from 1911 to 1912. Composed of individuals who identified with the emerging illegalist milieu, the gang used cutting-edge technology (including automobiles and repeating rifles) not yet available to the French police.

Caricature of the Bonnot gang

Originally referred to by the press as simply "The Auto Bandits" as its members carried out the first motorized robberies and bank raids in world history, the gang was dubbed "The Bonnot Gang" after Jules Bonnot gave an interview at the office of Le Petit Parisien, a popular daily paper. Bonnot's perceived prominence within the group was later reinforced by his high-profile death during a shootout with French police in Choisy-le-Roi.

Members

Principal gang members included:

  • Jules Bonnot, shot dead by law enforcement officers in France
    Jules Bonnot, shot dead by law enforcement officers in France
  • Octave Garnier, executed by firearm
    Octave Garnier, executed by firearm
  • Raymond Callemin, executed by guillotine
    Raymond Callemin, executed by guillotine
  • Étienne Monier, executed by guillotine
    Étienne Monier, executed by guillotine
  • André Soudy [fr], executed by guillotine
    André Soudy, executed by guillotine

Crime spree
Illustration of the robbery of Société Générale Bank in Chantilly on March 25, 1912

The first robbery by Bonnot's Gang was on December 21, 1911 at the AB Branch of Société Générale Bank, located at 148 rue Ordener in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. They shot a collection clerk in the neck and lung (yet he survived) and snatched his cash bags.[1]

On March 25, 1912, the gang stole a de Dion-Bouton automobile in the Forest of Sénart south of Paris by shooting the driver through the heart.[2] They drove into Chantilly north of Paris where they robbed the local branch of Société Générale Bank – fatally shooting two bank cashiers and severely wounding a bookkeeper.[1]

Sûreté Chief Xavier Guichard took the matter personally. Even politicians became concerned, increasing police funding by 800,000 francs. Banks began to prepare for forthcoming robberies and many cashiers armed themselves. The Société Générale promised a reward of 100,000 francs for information that would lead to arrests.[1]

See more

References
  1. ""Skedaddle!" The Bonnot Gang targets Societe Generale". Societe Generale. January 10, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  2. Richard Parry: The Bonnot gang. Rebel Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-946061-04-4, p. 115.

Further reading

Film

Media related to Bande à Bonnot at Wikimedia Commons

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