The Anarchist Encyclopedia: |
The Anarchist Encyclopedia: |
Clément Duval, French anarchist burglar & member of the "Panthers of Batignolles".
Duval timeline, excerpts from the Daily Bleed:
10-24-1886 -- France: Letter from Clement Duval, member of the anarchist group "Panther of Batignolles", justifying its activities, appears in "Revolt": "Le vol n'est que la restitution, opéré à son profit par un individu conscient des richesses produites collectivement, et indûment accaparée par quelques-uns."
10-25-1886 -- The episode which brought Clément Duval to his ruin & part of the iconography of the French regime, occurs.The anarchist burglar Duval had broken into the apartment of a rich woman, stolen her jewels & accidentally set it on fire while destroying things he could not take. The jewels, put up for sale too soon, led to the ‘fence’, & thus to Duval.
Duval spent 14 years in French Guyana where he attempted over 20 prison escapes. Finally, on April 14, 1901, he made good his escape & after a two year sojourn slipped into NY City, where he lived until age 85, supported & surrounded by Italian & French anarchist comrades. His memoirs, translated by Luigi Galleani, were published in Italian in 1929. In 1980 Marianne Enckell at C.I.R.A. in Lausanne recovered part of his original manuscript, which was published as Clement Duval, Convict & Anarchist. http://flag.blackened.net/ksl/bullet13.htm#duval
1-11-1887 (?) -- France: The anarchist thief Clément Duval goes on trial at the Seine Court of Assizes. Duval had broken into the apartment of a rich woman (25th October 1886), stolen her jewels & accidentally set it on fire while destroying things he could not take. The jewels, put up for sale too soon, led to the ‘fence’, & thus to Duval.The trial was far from tranquil. Clement Duval refused the role of the common criminal, proclaiming the political nature of his activity & contesting the pretence that the men in robes were handing out justice.
From being the accused Duval became accuser, denouncing embezzlement, the injustice of exploitation, mystification, & the wrongs suffered by himself & those like him. The crowd which packed out the court-room was carried away by his vehemence, & echoed his words.
The hearing ended uproariously with Duval expelled, shouting "Long live anarchy", the police overwhelmed by the crowd, the judges in flight to their chambers, insults & blows, fights & arrests. An hour later, after the uproar was quelled, the Court delivers its verdict: death. A penalty dictated by fear, disproportionate to the gravity of the offences. On February 28th, revealing this lack of proportion, the President of the Republic commuted Duval's sentence to deportation. Freedom was closing its doors on Duval, & the inferno was to take him in, forever.
2-11-1887 (?) -- France: Clément Duval, anarchist expropriator & member of the "Panthers of Batignolles" is condemned to death. See March 29, 1935.Clément Duval
Following the protests organized by the anarchists, his sentence was commuted to life. On April 14, 1901, he escaped from servitude in French Guyana to New York, where he lived until the ripe young age of 85, surrounded by beloved Italian anarchist comrades who aided him.
2-28-1887 -- France: The anarchist burglar & member of the "Panthers of Batignolles", Clement Duval, has his death sentence (see 11 January 1887) commuted to life by the President of the Republic.(alt spelling: Clément Duval
Clément Duval, a partially disabled veteran of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, spent a year in prison for stealing from his employer in order to feed his family & buy much-needed medication. Unable to support his family upon release, he undertook a life of crime. After burgling the mansion of a wealthy Paris socialite, he set it ablaze. Accosted by a policeman outside, he struck the officer down & fled. Sentenced to death upon capture, this was commuted to life at hard labor. His response was published in the pages of "Revolte":
"Theft exists only through the exploitation of man by man...when Society refuses you the right to exist, you must take it...the policeman arrested me in the name of the Law, I struck him in the name of Liberty..."
Clement Duval attempted escape 20 times, & after finally succeeding, reached New York, where he lived until age 85, surrounded by Italian anarchist comrades.See his book, Moi, Clément Duval, bagnard et anarchiste (Introduction by MarianneEnckell; Les Editions ouvrières, Paris, 1991)
See Doug Imrie's article, "The Illegalists" in the Stan Iverson Archives, & background material on the Bonnot Gang, online,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnot_gang
3-25-1887 -- France: At four o’clock this afternoon, Clement Duval is dispatched, from the military fortress of Toulon, bound for the prison cells of French Guyana. He had a ghastly anticipation of what to expect from the very first day of his stay in the fortress. His own words, for all their tone, are so eloquent as to not need comment:
Duval spent 14 years in French Guyana. In this time, he tried to escape more than 20 times, seizing every chance, every means: on rafts, on stolen or patiently built boats, hiding in ships that passed. Every time something went wrong. The anarchist thief, Clement Duval, had been sentenced at the Seine Court of Assizes. Duval had stolen (25th October 1886) a rich woman's jewels.
The trial was far from tranquil. Clement Duval refused the role of the common criminal, proclaiming the political nature of his activity, & contesting the pretence that the men in robes were handing out justice.
From being the accused he became accuser, denouncing the injustices, exploitation, mystification, & the wrongs suffered by himself & those like him. The packed court-room crowd was invigorated by his vehemence, & echoed his words.
The hearing ended uproariously with Duval expelled, shouting "Long live anarchy", the police overwhelmed by the crowd, the judges in flight to their chambers! Insults & blows, were exchanged as fights broke out & arrests attempted. An hour later, when the uproar was quelled, the Court delivered its verdict: death. The penalty was dictated by fear, & was totally disproportionate to the gravity of the offences, as indicated on February 28th, when the President of the Republic commuted the sentence to a life of hard labor on Saint-Joseph Island. The doors of freedom were closing to Duval, & the inferno was seemingly to to take him in forever.
"Theft exists only through the exploitation of man by man...when Society refuses you the right to exist, you must take it...the policeman arrested me in the name of the Law, I struck him in the name of Liberty..."
In September a guard killed the anarchist convict François Briens, & tonite the guard is killed in revenge & three others stabbed. The revolt was quickly put down, & on the 22nd 11 convicts are killed.
Initial plans may have included the famed burglar Clément Duval but he did not directly take part in it. He did jot down the names of the anarchists among the dead: Garnier, Boasi, Simon (aka Biscuit), Jules Léauthier, Lebeau, Mazarguil, Thiervoz, Benoît Chevenet, Pierre Meyrveis & Edmond Marpaux.
Informers had tipped off prison officials to the revolt & they were just waiting:
"Cold blood & no quarter given" had been the orders of the Commander Bonafi, chief of Internal Security, whose men had got as drunk as pigs for the occasion. In an incredible massacre, the ... anarchists were overpowered & mercilessly killed, one by one: Garnier, Boesie, Simon, Le Leauthier, Lebault, Masservin, Dervaux, Chevenet, Mesuesis, Kesvau, Marpeaux; the next day their bullet ridden bodies were thrown into the sea for the sharks to eat, while the hurriedly appointed Commission of Inquiry continued the repression, arresting & putting in irons anyone who was even slightly suspected of helping the rebels.
4-13-1901 -- Duval, with eight other prisoners, put to sea in a fragile canoe & silently made for the open sea. It was in the dead of night, & no guards noticed the escape until the next day. The convicts rowed with all their strength & in the morning raised a sail, avoiding territories under French jurisdiction. A warship came close without showing the slightest interest, & continued on its way. A good start. After 14 years in the French Guyana prison & over 20 escape attempts, Duval is successful, making it to NY where he lived to age 85.
3-29-1935 -- Clement Duval dies. Anarchist illegalist, member of "La panthère des Batignolles," sentenced to death by a French court for burglary (in which a policeman was wounded trying to apprehend him).
Following anarchist protests his sentence was commuted to life. Duval spent 14 years in French Guyana where he attempted over 20 escapes. Finally, on April 14, 1901, he made good his escape & after a two year sojourn slipped into New York City, where he lived until age 85, supported & surrounded by Italian & French anarchist comrades. His memoirs, translated by Luigi Galleani, were published in Italian in 1929. In 1980 Marianne Enckell at C.I.R.A. in Lausanne recovered part of his original manuscript, which was published as Clement Duval, Convict & Anarchist.
"Vous m'inculpez de vol, comme si un travailleur qui ne possède rien peut être un voleur. Non, le vol n'existe que dans l'exploitation de l'homme par l'homme,en un mot par ceux qui vivent aux dépens de la classe productrice".
See the Déclaration de Clément Duval, in the Stan Iverson Archives,
http://recollectionbooks.com/siml/library/index.html#declarationDuval
http://ytak.club.fr/mars4.html#29
http://ytak.club.fr/juin4.html#26
See also Thierry Maricourt's article, in Le Monde Libertaire,
http://increvablesanarchistes.org/articles/avan1914/bagnars_anars.htm
(page updated, Feb 2003; Sept 2004, September 2006)
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