Today in Labor History May 15, 1912: French police gunned down Andre Rene Valet (1890-1912) and Octave Garnier (1889-1912), of the anarchist Bonnot Gang. The two were the last of the gang to be killed (or apprehended). They were attacked by 300 policemen and gendarmes, plus 800 soldiers. Yet even this was not enough to apprehend them. So, the cops set off a bomb that killed Garnier. Valet continued fighting, despite his mortal wounds. In the aftermath, the authorities went on a witch hunt, rounding up anarchists and labor activists throughout France, much like the Palmer raids in the U.S.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #anarchism #BonnotGang #WitchHunt #PoliceBrutality #police #acab

Today in Labor History April, 21, 1913: Andre Soudy and Raymond Callemin, members of the anarchist Bonnot Gang, were executed. Callemin had started the individualist paper "L'anarchie" with Victor Serge. The Bonnot Gang was a band of French anarchists who tried to fund their movement through robberies in 1911-1912. The Bonnot Gang was unique, not only for their politics, but for their innovative use of technology, too. They were among the first to use cars and automatic rifles to help them steal, technology that even the French police were not using. While many of the gang members were sentenced to death, Serge got five years and eventually went on to participate in (and survive) the Barcelona and Soviet uprisings. Later, while living in exile, Serge wrote The Birth of Our Power.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #BonnotGang #anarchism #DeathPenalty #execution #soviet #uprising #revolution

Today in Labor History March 29, 1935: French illegalist anarchist Clément Duval died. He was a major influence on other illegalist anarchists of the era, including members of the Bonnot Gang. In 1886, Duval robbed the mansion of a Parisian socialite. He was condemned to death, but his sentence was later commuted to hard labor on Devil's Island, French Guiana, setting for the novel Papillon. According to Paul Albert, "The story of Clement Duval was lifted and, shorn of all politics, turned into the bestseller Papillon." In a letter printed in the November 1886 issue of the anarchist paper Le Révolté, Duval famously declared: "Theft is but restitution carried out by an individual to his own benefit, being conscious of another's undue monopolization of collectively produced wealth."

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #anarchism #prison #DevilsIsland #papillon #ClementDuval #BonnotGang #novel #fiction @bookstadon

Today in Labor History: March 28, 1911: Several members of the anarchist Bonnot Gang were caught & killed by cops. This was after months of bank robbing & mayhem.

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Today in Labor History March 11, 1850: French anarchist Clément Duval was born. His theory of individual reclamation, which justified theft, and other crimes, as both educational and legitimate ways to redistribute the wealth, influenced the Illegalists of the 1910s, including Jules Bonnot, of the Bonnot Gang. According to Paul Albert, "The story of Clement Duval was lifted and, shorn of all politics, turned into the bestseller Papillon."

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #anarchism #illegalism #BonnotGang #papillon #individualism

Today in Labor History December 21, 1911: The Bonnot Gang, a group of anarchist bandits, pulled off the first bank robbery known to have used an automobile as a getaway car. They did it in broad daylight, in the midst of a populous Paris district. They were also among the first to use repeating rifles, technology that the French police did not yet have. They successfully robbed several banks before being caught and executed. The gang members were anarchist individualists, of the Max Stirner school. They were connected with the anarchist periodical, “L’Anarchie,” edited by Victor Serge, who later participated in the Russian Revolution. Serge was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks and, while in prison, wrote his most famous novel, “Birth of Our Power.” You can read more about the Bonnot Gang in Richard Parry’s book “The Bonnot Gang.”

#LaborHistory #WorkingClass #anarchism #BonnotGang #VictorSerge #russia #revolution #bolshevik #MaxStirner #fiction #biography @bookstadon

Ai-assisted collage portrait of the French illegalist anarchist Jules Bonnot (October 14, 1876 – April 28, 1912)... I made quite a few variations, but this one turned out the best.
#AnarchistHistory #Illegalism #BonnotGang