Jacques Mesrine

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Lore & Background

Jacques René Mesrine was born in Clichy, near Paris on 28 December 1936 to a couple of blue-collar origin who had moved up in social class. As a child, he witnessed a massacre of villagers by German soldiers. His parents sent him to the prestigious Catholic Collège de Juilly where his friends included musician and composer Jean-Jacques Debout. Mesrine was an extremely unruly pupil and was expelled from Juilly for attacking the principal. He went on to be expelled from other schools and fell into the lifestyle of a juvenile delinquent. In 1955, at age 19, he married Lydia De Souza in Clichy; the couple divorced a year later. Drafted into the French Army, he volunteered for special duty in the Algerian War as a parachutist/commando. While participating in counter-insurgency operations, Mesrine's duties are said to have included the killing of prisoners. He was decorated with the Cross for Military Valour by General Charles de Gaulle before leaving the army in 1959. His father later claimed that the time in Algeria had brought about a noticeable deterioration in Mesrine's behaviour. In 1961, Mesrine became involved with the Organisation armée secrète. He married Maria de la Soledad; they had three children but later separated in 1965. In 1962, Mesrine was sentenced to 18 months in prison for robbery (his first prison sentence, although he had been a professional criminal for a number of years). After being released, he worked at an architectural design company where he constructed models, showing considerable ability. However, a downsizing in 1964 resulted in his being laid off. His family bought him the tenancy of a country restaurant, a role in which he was quite successful, but this arrangement ended after the owner found him carousing with acquaintances from his past. He returned to crime. In December 1965, Mesrine was arrested in the villa of the military governor in Palma de Mallorca. He was sentenced to six months in jail and later claimed that Spanish authorities believed he was working for French intelligence. In 1966, Mesrine opened a restaurant in the Canary Islands. In December of the same year, he robbed a jewellery store in Geneva and a hotel in Chamonix. The following year, he robbed a fashion store in Paris. In February 1968, he fled to Quebec with his then mistress, Jeanne Schneider, and worked as a housekeeper/cook and a chauffeur for millionaire Georges Deslauriers for a few months. After an argument led to their dismissal, they attempted to kidnap Deslauriers, but this scheme failed when a supposedly strong sedative had no effect on him. On 26 June 1969, Mesrine and Schneider fled to the US. On 30 June, Evelyne Le Bouthillier, an elderly lady who may have given them refuge, was found strangled. On 16 July, Mesrine and Schneider were arrested in Texarkana, Arkansas and extradited to Quebec. Mesrine was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the bungled kidnapping; he escaped a few weeks later, but was rearrested the next day. Mesrine and Schneider were acquitted of the murder of Le Bouthillier in 1971. With Jean-Paul Mercier, Mesrine cut through the wire to escape again on 21 August 1972 with five others from the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul prison. Mercier, a wanted murderer, and Mesrine then robbed a series of banks in Montreal, sometimes two in the same day. On 3 September 1972, they made an extremely risky attempt to precipitate a mass break out from the maximum security block of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. There was a shoot-out in which two guards were seriously injured and Mercier was wounded before they managed to get away. A week later, Mesrine and Mercier shot and killed two forest rangers, Médéric Cote, aged 62, and Ernest Saint-Pierre, aged 50, after being recognized. By the end of 1972, Mesrine had returned to France, where he resumed robbing banks. On 5 March 1973, during an argument with a cashier in a coffee bar, Mesrine brandished a revolver and seriously injured a police officer who tried to intervene. He was arrested 3 days later. In May, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment at La Santé maximum security prison. Mesrine took a judge, who had sentenced him on another matter in the past, hostage with a revolver (recovered from the courthouse lavatory where it had been hidden by an accomplice) and escaped. After being at large for four months, he was arrested in his new Paris apartment on 28 September 1973, on information supplied by an associate who wanted a reduced sentence. Mesrine was returned to La Santé where he covertly wrote and smuggled out an autobiography, titled L'Instinct de Mort ("Death Instinct"), in which he claimed to have committed upwards of forty murders, a number thought by some to be a considerable exaggeration. The appearance of Mesrine's book resulted in France passing a "Son of Sam law", designed to stop criminals profiting from the publication of their crimes. On 8 May 1978, Mesrine produced a gun, stole keys and, with François Besse and another man, escaped from La Santé. They used a grappling iron and an extending ladder to scale the 14 metre high exterior wall. The third man over the wall was shot dead by police. Mesrine and Besse hijacked a car and evaded a police cordon; they had become the first men to escape from La Santé. Four days after their escape, they robbed a Paris gunsmith. On 26 May 1978, the duo robbed the Deauville Casino of 130,000 francs.

Reader's Guide

Jacques Mesrine's significance lies in his status as a highly publicized fugitive who repeatedly escaped from maximum-security prisons and committed brazen crimes across France, the US, and Canada. His ability to evade capture through disguises earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces," and his charismatic image made him a Robin Hood-like figure to some, despite his violent acts. He was rarely without a female companion, which added to his public persona. His autobiography, L'Instinct de Mort, claimed an exaggerated number of murders and prompted French legislation to prevent criminals from profiting from their crimes. Mesrine's life inspired a two-part film in 2008. His legacy is that of a complex criminal who challenged law enforcement and captured public imagination, though his actions caused significant harm and loss of life.

Did You Know?

• Mesrine was decorated with the Cross for Military Valour by General Charles de Gaulle for his service in the Algerian War.
• He escaped from La Santé prison, considered escape-proof, on 8 May 1978, becoming the first man to do so.
• His autobiography L'Instinct de Mort claimed he committed upwards of forty murders, though this number is thought by some to be a considerable exaggeration.
• Mesrine's book led France to pass a 'Son of Sam law' to stop criminals from profiting from the publication of their crimes.
• He and accomplice Jean-Paul Mercier shot and killed two forest rangers, Médéric Cote (aged 62) and Ernest Saint-Pierre (aged 50), after being recognized during a target practice session.