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."

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Today in Labor History February 28, 1887: Clément Duval had his death sentence commuted to life in prison. He was a French anarchist and criminal whose ideas influenced the illegalist movement of the 1910s. The most famous illegalist was Jules Bonot, who orchestrated the world’s first bank heist utilizing a getaway car. According to Paul Albert, Duval’s story was the basis for the bestseller Papillon, about multiple escape attempts from Devil’s Island.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #prison #anarchism #illegalism #papillon #DevilsIsland #ClémentDuval #DeathPenalty #JulesBonot #BankRobbery #books #novel @bookstadon