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Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits: The Crime Spree that Gripped Belle Epoque Paris
The thrilling story of the Bonnot Gang, a band of anarchist bank robbers whose crimes terrorized Belle Ã?oque Paris, and whose escapades reflected the fast-paced, dizzyingly modern, and increasingly violent period on the eve of World War I.
For six terrifying months in 1911-1912, the citizens of Paris were gripped by a violent crime streak. A group of bandits went on a rampage throughout the city and its suburbs, robbing banks and wealthy Parisians, killing anyone who got in their way, and always managing to stay one step ahead of the police. But Jules Bonnot and the Bonnot Gang weren't just ordinary criminals; they were anarchists, motivated by the rampant inequality and poverty in Paris.
John Merriman tells this story through the eyes of two young, idealistic Victor Kibaltchiche (later the famed Russian revolutionary and writer Victor Serge) and Rirette Maîejean, who chronicled the Bonnot crime spree in the radical newspaper L'Anarchie . While wealthy Parisians frequented restaurants on the Champs-�ysé, attended performances at the magnificent new opera house, and enjoyed the decadence of the so-called Belle �oque, Victor, Rirette, and their friends occupied a vast sprawl of dank apartments, bleak canals, and smoky factories. Victor and Rirette rejected the violence of Bonnot and his cronies, but to the police it made no difference. Victor was imprisoned for years for his anarchist beliefs, Bonnot was hunted down and shot dead, and his fellow bandits were sentenced to death by guillotine or lifelong imprisonment.
Fast-paced and gripping, Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits is a tale of idealists and lost causes--and a vivid evocation of Paris in the dizzying years before the horrors of World War I were unleashed.
For six terrifying months in 1911-1912, the citizens of Paris were gripped by a violent crime streak. A group of bandits went on a rampage throughout the city and its suburbs, robbing banks and wealthy Parisians, killing anyone who got in their way, and always managing to stay one step ahead of the police. But Jules Bonnot and the Bonnot Gang weren't just ordinary criminals; they were anarchists, motivated by the rampant inequality and poverty in Paris.
John Merriman tells this story through the eyes of two young, idealistic Victor Kibaltchiche (later the famed Russian revolutionary and writer Victor Serge) and Rirette Maîejean, who chronicled the Bonnot crime spree in the radical newspaper L'Anarchie . While wealthy Parisians frequented restaurants on the Champs-�ysé, attended performances at the magnificent new opera house, and enjoyed the decadence of the so-called Belle �oque, Victor, Rirette, and their friends occupied a vast sprawl of dank apartments, bleak canals, and smoky factories. Victor and Rirette rejected the violence of Bonnot and his cronies, but to the police it made no difference. Victor was imprisoned for years for his anarchist beliefs, Bonnot was hunted down and shot dead, and his fellow bandits were sentenced to death by guillotine or lifelong imprisonment.
Fast-paced and gripping, Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits is a tale of idealists and lost causes--and a vivid evocation of Paris in the dizzying years before the horrors of World War I were unleashed.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published October 3, 2017
20 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
John M. Merriman
31 books66 followersJohn Mustard Merriman was Charles Seymour Professor of History at Yale University. He earned his B.A. (1968) and Ph.D. (1972) at the University of Michigan. Merriman received Yale University’s Harwood F. Byrnes/Richard B. Sewall Teaching Prize in 2000, and was awarded a Docteur Honoris Causa in France in 2002, and the “Medal of Meritorious Service to Polish Education” (Medal Kimisji Edukacji Narodowej) awarded by the Ministry of Education of Poland in 2009.
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December 10, 2024
This is an interesting, well-written book about a group of French and Belgian anarchists who in 1911-12 committed a number of violent crimes in and around Paris - describing their inter-relationships, including betrayals, political or ideological perspectives, and unfortunately, the crimes, which included murders, they committed.
Overall, despite the "color" or "atmosphere" of Paris, the impression is that there was a terrible underside of misery to the frivolity/prosperity that many people associate with fin-de-siecle Paris - especially as many associate it with frothy paintings of the post-impressionists and/or movies celebrating the seemingly carefree lives of Parisians prior to the First World War. Unfortunately, there was a sub-proletarian class - of casually or under-employed Parisians living from hand to mouth, in dreary areas that included industrial plants, drawing job-seeking migrants from other parts of France - as well as a burgeoning revolutionary class, or poor people attracted to revolutionary causes or ideas.
The book describes the crimes of the anarchist Bonnot gang - a group which was connected to the writer Victor Serge although he did not participate in their actual crimes - and the twists and turns of the subsequent process whereby the French police eventually killed in shootouts. or captured all the gang members, as well as the trials of those who were captured alive, and what became of surviving gang members.
This is a fascinating glimpse into a time of intellectual/revolutionary ferment in Paris characterized by the proliferation of anarchist or other revolutionary discussion groups, and a group of violent anarchists who committed a number of crimes before they were stopped, using stolen cars, an idea which was a novelty at the time since cars were not yet widely owned.
I would say that the author sometimes adopts a rather detached, tongue in cheek tone that confers a somewhat trivializing, or faintly mocking editorial slant on the subject of the book, as well as perhaps French society at that time, including the critique of the problems the French police had in tracking down the gang, or putting together the complex pieces of the puzzle of the gang's whereabouts, travels, activities. The gang terrorized France for a time, and the country was on tenterhooks until the gang was stopped, as their crimes were widely reported, even sensationalized, in the press at the time. Given the 21 Century terror tragedies, though, some readers may not regard the account of the late 19th C French crime/terror spree from a similar perspective.
Here are some quotes from the book:
"...guides for visitors presented Paris as a pacified city, with insurrections, revolutions, and the Paris Commune of 1871 in the distant past."
"The "high bourgeoisie," as they were sometimes known, including many nouveaux riches, had largely supplanted the old aristocracy. The term high life emerged from this period."
"The Catholic Church was far more likely to play a role in the lives of the upper classes than it played in the increasingly dechristianized quartiers populaires in northeastern Paris and the suburbs, even after the 1905 law on the Separation of Church and State ended government funding for religious organizations and made all churches and other religious buildings national or communal property."
"Going up and down the [Palais Garnier] opera house's enormous marble double stairways lit by incredible chandeliers, le tout Paris (the Parisian bourgeois financial oligarchy) attended lavish operatic performances and the masked balls that captured the prevalent sense of operatic illusion."
"The motto of the Third Republic may have been "liberty, fraternity, equality," but the term equality amounted to a charade. Bankers, industrialists, financiers, speculators, magistrates, wealthy notaries and lawyers, and high government officials-- the grande bourgeoisie--ruled the roost. Paris was an imposing center of banking, commerce, manufacturing,and government. The French bourgeoisie lived "three times blessed" because of the economic, social, and political power that was all concentrated in their hands."
"The Chamber of Deputies, elected by universal male suffrage, invariably acted on behalf of the wealthy--only in 1914 would it finally approve a tax on revenue."
"Parisian newspapers, which might have served as a check on the actions of the powerful, were instead largely complicit."
"By the twentieth century, however, if France, like old Gaul, was divided into three parts ("estates")--executive, legislative, and judicial authorities--the press had arguably become the fourth, receiving tips from politicians and influencing votes in the Chamber of Deputies. Printing machines (lino-types), developed in the United States in the 1890s, dramatically increased print runs and expanded the power of the press."
"Anarchists, who wanted to destroy states, closely identified capitalism and large-scale industrialization with increasingly centralized governments that protected the interests of the wealthy. Many workers and other ordinary people, frustrated with the corruption of the Third Republic and the avarice of their bosses, came to agree with the anarchists."
"'Un monde sans evasion possible. (A world with no possible escape). - Victor Serge"
"Elections seemed only to prop up corrupt states and the interests of the wealthy."
"How, Victor wondered, could one create a just society that was both "ardent and pure?"
"Victor concluded that lawyers were there "to invoke the laws of the rich which are unjust by definition."
"In Montmartre, the avant-garde reacted against the cultural restraints of artistic tradition and convention, continuing the revolt against Romanticism. In this sense, their "violent dissent" had something in common with the anarchist revolt of Victor and many others against hierarchical bourgeois society and its state."
"Because some anarchists rejected festive meals and alcohol, did the rampant, public festivity--even debauchery--of Montmartre which stood in stark contrast to the abject misery of many residents, encourage anarchism?"
"The so-called Belle Epoque was not belle for very many Parisians, including Victor."
"Because 1902 and 1913, 37 percent of people who died left nothing to their descendants because they had nothing to leave."
"In 1911, 82 percent of the population of Paris was classified as poor, and 72 percent of those were indigent. The vast majority of families had no savings at all because they needed to spend whatever income they had just to keep going."
"[The anarchist Libertad] ... had particular contempt for socialists who participated in elections, thus in the mind of most anarchists propping up the bourgeois state."
"Libertad became the patron saint of individualism. He reminded his followers, "The most difficult enemy to defeat is in yourself, anchored in your brain. It is one, but wears different masks: it is the belief in God, the belief in the Patrie, the obsession with the family, the existence of property. It calls itself Authority, the holy Bastille of Authority, to which everyone is supposed to bow.""
"...anarchism found followers in non-Castilian parts of Spain and in southern Italy, where tax collectors, government officials, and soldiers, speaking a different language, stood as the face of the state."
"Seeing uniformed troops and tricolor flags flapping in the breeze in Paris had confirmed for [anarchist gang member Raymond] Callemin the idiocy of the very idea of "la Patrie." Raymond's "Patrie" was "the entire earth, without any borders.""
"Anarchists rejected state power, capitalism, and concomitant aggressive nationalism."
"All anarchists were opposed to armies, which represented the force of states."
"The newspaper ['L'Anarchie'] offered scathing commentaries of military life and the role of soldiers, who were described as hanging around bars, smoking and drinking, "a worker who will wear a ridiculous costume" so that his comrades from the atelier will obey the bosses."
"In Paris years earlier, [Victor Serge] ... had translated Russian modernists from the revolutionary period into French and had read widely about the French Revolution."
Overall, despite the "color" or "atmosphere" of Paris, the impression is that there was a terrible underside of misery to the frivolity/prosperity that many people associate with fin-de-siecle Paris - especially as many associate it with frothy paintings of the post-impressionists and/or movies celebrating the seemingly carefree lives of Parisians prior to the First World War. Unfortunately, there was a sub-proletarian class - of casually or under-employed Parisians living from hand to mouth, in dreary areas that included industrial plants, drawing job-seeking migrants from other parts of France - as well as a burgeoning revolutionary class, or poor people attracted to revolutionary causes or ideas.
The book describes the crimes of the anarchist Bonnot gang - a group which was connected to the writer Victor Serge although he did not participate in their actual crimes - and the twists and turns of the subsequent process whereby the French police eventually killed in shootouts. or captured all the gang members, as well as the trials of those who were captured alive, and what became of surviving gang members.
This is a fascinating glimpse into a time of intellectual/revolutionary ferment in Paris characterized by the proliferation of anarchist or other revolutionary discussion groups, and a group of violent anarchists who committed a number of crimes before they were stopped, using stolen cars, an idea which was a novelty at the time since cars were not yet widely owned.
I would say that the author sometimes adopts a rather detached, tongue in cheek tone that confers a somewhat trivializing, or faintly mocking editorial slant on the subject of the book, as well as perhaps French society at that time, including the critique of the problems the French police had in tracking down the gang, or putting together the complex pieces of the puzzle of the gang's whereabouts, travels, activities. The gang terrorized France for a time, and the country was on tenterhooks until the gang was stopped, as their crimes were widely reported, even sensationalized, in the press at the time. Given the 21 Century terror tragedies, though, some readers may not regard the account of the late 19th C French crime/terror spree from a similar perspective.
Here are some quotes from the book:
"...guides for visitors presented Paris as a pacified city, with insurrections, revolutions, and the Paris Commune of 1871 in the distant past."
"The "high bourgeoisie," as they were sometimes known, including many nouveaux riches, had largely supplanted the old aristocracy. The term high life emerged from this period."
"The Catholic Church was far more likely to play a role in the lives of the upper classes than it played in the increasingly dechristianized quartiers populaires in northeastern Paris and the suburbs, even after the 1905 law on the Separation of Church and State ended government funding for religious organizations and made all churches and other religious buildings national or communal property."
"Going up and down the [Palais Garnier] opera house's enormous marble double stairways lit by incredible chandeliers, le tout Paris (the Parisian bourgeois financial oligarchy) attended lavish operatic performances and the masked balls that captured the prevalent sense of operatic illusion."
"The motto of the Third Republic may have been "liberty, fraternity, equality," but the term equality amounted to a charade. Bankers, industrialists, financiers, speculators, magistrates, wealthy notaries and lawyers, and high government officials-- the grande bourgeoisie--ruled the roost. Paris was an imposing center of banking, commerce, manufacturing,and government. The French bourgeoisie lived "three times blessed" because of the economic, social, and political power that was all concentrated in their hands."
"The Chamber of Deputies, elected by universal male suffrage, invariably acted on behalf of the wealthy--only in 1914 would it finally approve a tax on revenue."
"Parisian newspapers, which might have served as a check on the actions of the powerful, were instead largely complicit."
"By the twentieth century, however, if France, like old Gaul, was divided into three parts ("estates")--executive, legislative, and judicial authorities--the press had arguably become the fourth, receiving tips from politicians and influencing votes in the Chamber of Deputies. Printing machines (lino-types), developed in the United States in the 1890s, dramatically increased print runs and expanded the power of the press."
"Anarchists, who wanted to destroy states, closely identified capitalism and large-scale industrialization with increasingly centralized governments that protected the interests of the wealthy. Many workers and other ordinary people, frustrated with the corruption of the Third Republic and the avarice of their bosses, came to agree with the anarchists."
"'Un monde sans evasion possible. (A world with no possible escape). - Victor Serge"
"Elections seemed only to prop up corrupt states and the interests of the wealthy."
"How, Victor wondered, could one create a just society that was both "ardent and pure?"
"Victor concluded that lawyers were there "to invoke the laws of the rich which are unjust by definition."
"In Montmartre, the avant-garde reacted against the cultural restraints of artistic tradition and convention, continuing the revolt against Romanticism. In this sense, their "violent dissent" had something in common with the anarchist revolt of Victor and many others against hierarchical bourgeois society and its state."
"Because some anarchists rejected festive meals and alcohol, did the rampant, public festivity--even debauchery--of Montmartre which stood in stark contrast to the abject misery of many residents, encourage anarchism?"
"The so-called Belle Epoque was not belle for very many Parisians, including Victor."
"Because 1902 and 1913, 37 percent of people who died left nothing to their descendants because they had nothing to leave."
"In 1911, 82 percent of the population of Paris was classified as poor, and 72 percent of those were indigent. The vast majority of families had no savings at all because they needed to spend whatever income they had just to keep going."
"[The anarchist Libertad] ... had particular contempt for socialists who participated in elections, thus in the mind of most anarchists propping up the bourgeois state."
"Libertad became the patron saint of individualism. He reminded his followers, "The most difficult enemy to defeat is in yourself, anchored in your brain. It is one, but wears different masks: it is the belief in God, the belief in the Patrie, the obsession with the family, the existence of property. It calls itself Authority, the holy Bastille of Authority, to which everyone is supposed to bow.""
"...anarchism found followers in non-Castilian parts of Spain and in southern Italy, where tax collectors, government officials, and soldiers, speaking a different language, stood as the face of the state."
"Seeing uniformed troops and tricolor flags flapping in the breeze in Paris had confirmed for [anarchist gang member Raymond] Callemin the idiocy of the very idea of "la Patrie." Raymond's "Patrie" was "the entire earth, without any borders.""
"Anarchists rejected state power, capitalism, and concomitant aggressive nationalism."
"All anarchists were opposed to armies, which represented the force of states."
"The newspaper ['L'Anarchie'] offered scathing commentaries of military life and the role of soldiers, who were described as hanging around bars, smoking and drinking, "a worker who will wear a ridiculous costume" so that his comrades from the atelier will obey the bosses."
"In Paris years earlier, [Victor Serge] ... had translated Russian modernists from the revolutionary period into French and had read widely about the French Revolution."
May 25, 2017
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
I live in a neighborhood that has anarchists. Granted, my philosophy is different, and I don’t quite understand why an anarchist would always have the most up to date computer, but hey, they seem pretty nice even if they smell of pot much of the time.
That’s my view of anarchists, who are usually squatters in my neck of the woods.
Needless to say, those types of Anarchists are not the ones that Merriman is writing about. Merriman’s history is about the bandits that committed crimes during pre-WWI France, but it is also about the anarchist movement in France at the time.
Merriman opens his book with the holdup of the Société Générale. This is the Bonnot Gang. Of course, like most criminal’s people who were not involved with the crime spree where caught in the net. It is two of these – Victor Kibaltchiche and Riette Maitrejean.
Merriman takes him time in laying the foundation for the action. He provides more detail of the Belle Époque period, showing the trends and political movements that gave rise to the Anarchist movement as well as the various threads of that movement – illegal activity vs philosophy.
For that is what sometimes gets lost in a discussion of anarchists, at least in the media. They become simply bomb throwing, gun shooting radicals who populate the media. Merriman’s book illustrates that in some cases it was a life style, including vegetarianism and foregoing of items such alcohol and salt.
Maitrejean and Kibaltchiche are at the heart of the story, for they seemed to have known everyone, and part of the drama of the story is the dragnet that captures are in its wake, regardless of involvement or not. It is their fate and the fate of their family that moves the story forward. Merriman’s prose is invigorating enough to carry the reader along. There are also little details, such as the horror of balsamic vinegar that actually illustrate the dedication to the cause. Honesty, you must strongly believe in something if you are willing to give up such a wonderful thing. Such small details actually make the history more interesting and in some ways more real.
Considering the current political climate, the book might be timelier than intended. It is also to Merriman’s credit that he does not romanticize the Illegalistes. Despite the title the book isn’t one of the romantic retellings of an outlaw life. In many ways, while the reader does end up feeing some sympathy for the bandits, or at least a few of them, the cost to others not involved in the Illegalistes is not ignored. This is done by the not only the use of outsiders but also by showcasing the debates within the movement itself.
I live in a neighborhood that has anarchists. Granted, my philosophy is different, and I don’t quite understand why an anarchist would always have the most up to date computer, but hey, they seem pretty nice even if they smell of pot much of the time.
That’s my view of anarchists, who are usually squatters in my neck of the woods.
Needless to say, those types of Anarchists are not the ones that Merriman is writing about. Merriman’s history is about the bandits that committed crimes during pre-WWI France, but it is also about the anarchist movement in France at the time.
Merriman opens his book with the holdup of the Société Générale. This is the Bonnot Gang. Of course, like most criminal’s people who were not involved with the crime spree where caught in the net. It is two of these – Victor Kibaltchiche and Riette Maitrejean.
Merriman takes him time in laying the foundation for the action. He provides more detail of the Belle Époque period, showing the trends and political movements that gave rise to the Anarchist movement as well as the various threads of that movement – illegal activity vs philosophy.
For that is what sometimes gets lost in a discussion of anarchists, at least in the media. They become simply bomb throwing, gun shooting radicals who populate the media. Merriman’s book illustrates that in some cases it was a life style, including vegetarianism and foregoing of items such alcohol and salt.
Maitrejean and Kibaltchiche are at the heart of the story, for they seemed to have known everyone, and part of the drama of the story is the dragnet that captures are in its wake, regardless of involvement or not. It is their fate and the fate of their family that moves the story forward. Merriman’s prose is invigorating enough to carry the reader along. There are also little details, such as the horror of balsamic vinegar that actually illustrate the dedication to the cause. Honesty, you must strongly believe in something if you are willing to give up such a wonderful thing. Such small details actually make the history more interesting and in some ways more real.
Considering the current political climate, the book might be timelier than intended. It is also to Merriman’s credit that he does not romanticize the Illegalistes. Despite the title the book isn’t one of the romantic retellings of an outlaw life. In many ways, while the reader does end up feeing some sympathy for the bandits, or at least a few of them, the cost to others not involved in the Illegalistes is not ignored. This is done by the not only the use of outsiders but also by showcasing the debates within the movement itself.
January 28, 2018
Purely exterior accounts of history, which focus on a series of events that unfold along such and such a timeline, risk eliding the atmospheres of everyday life that animated and pervaded those events for the actors involved as they lived them. Maybe this is because everyday experience isn't as easily or as widely recorded or preserved as what gets written about in newspaper reports and police briefings.
But the focus of this book is not necessarily the already well-known story of the Bonnot Gang's spree of robberies, gunfights, escapes, and trial. Sure, the story is in there, and Merriman's microhistorical analaysis offers all of the details you could want, and more. But what makes this book really great is Merriman's focus on the anarchist milieu in early 20th century Paris that those mythical stories flowered from. If you want:
-details on the different crews of friends, enemies, and acquaintances who met in reading groups and discussion groups to debate questions of individualism, egoism, syndicalism, and socialism
-personal squabbles over whether vinegar should be allowed in the diets of ascetic "scientific" militants (salt & pepper, coffee, alcohol, and meat were out; bananas, mac & cheese, mashed corn, vegetables, and sugar were ok; tea was contentious)
-a walking tour of the different neighborhoods, their characters, the rooms of the shacks and mansions they shared and squatted together, the stores and homes they stole from (and what they stole, and what they did with it), the jobs they worked (if they worked) and got fired from (and why), and the gardens they tended to
-the uneasy jealousy of lovers who were polyamorous in ideals but not really in heart
-everybody's personal feelings about each other and their whole life histories, the jokes they cracked to each other, the barbed words they spat at each other, their fears and sore spots
then you'll probably like what this book is doing. This is history from the inside, and it's fascinating.
But the focus of this book is not necessarily the already well-known story of the Bonnot Gang's spree of robberies, gunfights, escapes, and trial. Sure, the story is in there, and Merriman's microhistorical analaysis offers all of the details you could want, and more. But what makes this book really great is Merriman's focus on the anarchist milieu in early 20th century Paris that those mythical stories flowered from. If you want:
-details on the different crews of friends, enemies, and acquaintances who met in reading groups and discussion groups to debate questions of individualism, egoism, syndicalism, and socialism
-personal squabbles over whether vinegar should be allowed in the diets of ascetic "scientific" militants (salt & pepper, coffee, alcohol, and meat were out; bananas, mac & cheese, mashed corn, vegetables, and sugar were ok; tea was contentious)
-a walking tour of the different neighborhoods, their characters, the rooms of the shacks and mansions they shared and squatted together, the stores and homes they stole from (and what they stole, and what they did with it), the jobs they worked (if they worked) and got fired from (and why), and the gardens they tended to
-the uneasy jealousy of lovers who were polyamorous in ideals but not really in heart
-everybody's personal feelings about each other and their whole life histories, the jokes they cracked to each other, the barbed words they spat at each other, their fears and sore spots
then you'll probably like what this book is doing. This is history from the inside, and it's fascinating.
August 10, 2018
I have a rather substantial anarchist library, but my collection only covers American and Russian anarchism. I knew zilch about French anarchism and socialism except for the Paris Commune. This book is a real eye-opener. Well, actually, I'd read Victor Serge's Memories of a Revolutionary. At that time I was quite disappointed that he ended up a Communist. But now that I'm older and read this account ofSerge's earlier life in France and the aftermath of the Bonnot Gang's activities, it makes more sense. Still disappointed, though.
Of great value to me is Merrriman's account of the Illegalists. I'd not put them in the same category as Bakunin or Russian Nihlists. though they could be compared. I'm thinking through most of the book that these guys are real a-holes. It's Ok to rob, shoot, maim, bomb, and kill innocent people, but it's not OK to eat meat or use salt, pepper, coffee, tea, or vinegar ((all an affront to scientific anarchism). How pretentious! Some of these guys just seem to have a criminal natures and use anarchism (surprise!) as a justification. But It's much more complicated than that. Economic and social conditions in France were horrible, much worse than England and the US I think, and at some point somethin's gotta gIve. And it was the Bonnot Gang. Ironically, their rampage centralized the police and state.
This is a very timely book
Of great value to me is Merrriman's account of the Illegalists. I'd not put them in the same category as Bakunin or Russian Nihlists. though they could be compared. I'm thinking through most of the book that these guys are real a-holes. It's Ok to rob, shoot, maim, bomb, and kill innocent people, but it's not OK to eat meat or use salt, pepper, coffee, tea, or vinegar ((all an affront to scientific anarchism). How pretentious! Some of these guys just seem to have a criminal natures and use anarchism (surprise!) as a justification. But It's much more complicated than that. Economic and social conditions in France were horrible, much worse than England and the US I think, and at some point somethin's gotta gIve. And it was the Bonnot Gang. Ironically, their rampage centralized the police and state.
This is a very timely book
July 14, 2018
When banditry becomes a rational choice
The Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits: The crime spree that gripped belle époque Paris, is a fascinating, rigorously researched and exquisitely detailed book by John Merriman about the Bonnot gang, a group of professed anarchists who — enraged by the poverty and mistreatment of the working class in Paris — went on a headline-grabbing rampage that stymied law enforcement, rattled politicians and stunned the elites.
Belle époque refers to Europe’s relatively settled, stable era between the late 1800s and the beginning of WWI (1914), a period marked by cultural, technological and artistic advances. That was far, far from the case for the average working class person — especially in fin de siècle (end of the century) Paris. Jobs were scarce and being quickly displaced by automation, the pay and conditions were horrendous, there were no guarantees of safety or security — one could be fired for anything and at a moment’s notice, and women, at least those who could find a job, faced constant harassment. Unemployment was high, people were starving and forced to live in tiny, squalid housing, hygiene was non-existent, tuberculosis was on the rise, children were picking rags to survive, women — girls — were forced into prostitution, and all while the upper classes grew richer and celebrated life in the newly electrified city of lights.
The chasm between the haves and have-nots sent broad and deep socialist and anarchist current flowing through the beleaguered working class. And there were many competing anarchist camps. Some favored transformative anarchy — living the ideals so others could be influenced by the positive behaviors they saw, others favored lighting the fuse to the necessary revolution through “deeds,” such as tossing bombs at politicians, others were more theoretical, hoping to win supporters though intellectual efforts, and still others, like Bonnot, ultimately favored illegal activity, stealing from those who stole from others.
Naturally, anarchism and socialism were considered a major inconvenience by the wealthy elite who had the most to lose if, for example, pay was raised to subsistence levels and jobs were secure, never mind that children were working 12 hour days, infants were starving and teenage girls were turning tricks just a few blocks away from their swanky homes. As a consequence, agitators faced great police scrutiny and bullying and, whenever a strike occurred for, say, one day a week off, the cavalry descended and slashed people with their sabers. What passed for law enforcement was a mechanism to preserve the status quo that favored the wealthy.
Eventually, a group of anarchists led by Bonnot decided enough was enough — they stole a car, a relatively new technology at the time, and a bunch of guns (at the time, the Paris police were not armed), and went on a rampage. They started stealing money from rich people, gunning down bankers and cops, and basically terrorizing Paris and the suburbs, revealing the thin lie overlaying the belle époque mindset.
The book is loosely organized around two key members of the anarchist movement in Paris at the time, the lovers (and briefly husband and wife) Victor and Rirette. He was a passionate anarchist theorist who would later become deeply involved in the Russian revolution; she was the editor of the leading anarchist newspaper and would become a friend of Albert Camus.
Victor and Rirette knew Bonnot and all the gang members and, even though they abhorred the violence, they — and all anarchists — believed maintaining the unity of anarchism in the face of the system that was crushing everyone, was more important than choosing sides or betraying confidences. They, and others, offered sanctuary when they could, and purposefully asked no questions so they could not incriminate any other anarchist. And they, and hundreds of others, were caught up in the dragnet and sent to prison even though they had done nothing wrong.
Merriman is a strong writer, and this is a fascinating story, so it makes for a cracking good ride, like a French Bonnie and Clyde (only without the Bonnie, because the Bonnot gang was all men), with intrigues and murder and narrow escapes and betrayals and blood soaked shootouts. In fact, researching the crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde for our own series of what-if novels led me to this book. The underlying economic condition of America in the 1920s and 30s was very similar to Paris in 1910, and as we saw there and here, misery leads to hopelessness, and hopelessness — at least for some — leads inexorably to violence.
It’s a little disheartening to learn how bad things were, how wide the wealth gap was, and then read the same tired sense of shock and outrage from those in charge when violence ensues that we hear today. As if there’s a great mystery to why those oppressed by the economic system lash out. The hopeful words of Victor, who — like most of the anarchists of his day — believed in a society in which everyone should be lifted up by the fruits of labor, still ring true today, more than a 100 years later.
“Victor insisted that the anarchist had to ‘resist and take action continually.’ The masses were blocked by ‘the habit of believing, the habit of obeying, the habit of being guided.’ Laws were powerless to transform society. The ‘parliamentary illusion’ simply deluded people. From the individualist perspective, ‘Bestial violence, hatred, the sheep-like mentality of [political] leaders, the gullibility of the masses — here is what must be annihilated in order to transform society … without the renovation of mankind, there is no salvation!’ The basis of anarchist morality could be found ‘in our very lives. Because it is life that inspires insubordination.’”
Victor and Rirette, like most of the anarchists of the era, did not favor violence against individuals, but they understood how anger and hopelessness could engender the urge to lash out. And they clearly saw through the lie of an economic system that promises so much and yet dooms so many to a life of despair and hopelessness. That feels as relevant today as it was a century ago in belle époque Paris.
The Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits: The crime spree that gripped belle époque Paris, is a fascinating, rigorously researched and exquisitely detailed book by John Merriman about the Bonnot gang, a group of professed anarchists who — enraged by the poverty and mistreatment of the working class in Paris — went on a headline-grabbing rampage that stymied law enforcement, rattled politicians and stunned the elites.
Belle époque refers to Europe’s relatively settled, stable era between the late 1800s and the beginning of WWI (1914), a period marked by cultural, technological and artistic advances. That was far, far from the case for the average working class person — especially in fin de siècle (end of the century) Paris. Jobs were scarce and being quickly displaced by automation, the pay and conditions were horrendous, there were no guarantees of safety or security — one could be fired for anything and at a moment’s notice, and women, at least those who could find a job, faced constant harassment. Unemployment was high, people were starving and forced to live in tiny, squalid housing, hygiene was non-existent, tuberculosis was on the rise, children were picking rags to survive, women — girls — were forced into prostitution, and all while the upper classes grew richer and celebrated life in the newly electrified city of lights.
The chasm between the haves and have-nots sent broad and deep socialist and anarchist current flowing through the beleaguered working class. And there were many competing anarchist camps. Some favored transformative anarchy — living the ideals so others could be influenced by the positive behaviors they saw, others favored lighting the fuse to the necessary revolution through “deeds,” such as tossing bombs at politicians, others were more theoretical, hoping to win supporters though intellectual efforts, and still others, like Bonnot, ultimately favored illegal activity, stealing from those who stole from others.
Naturally, anarchism and socialism were considered a major inconvenience by the wealthy elite who had the most to lose if, for example, pay was raised to subsistence levels and jobs were secure, never mind that children were working 12 hour days, infants were starving and teenage girls were turning tricks just a few blocks away from their swanky homes. As a consequence, agitators faced great police scrutiny and bullying and, whenever a strike occurred for, say, one day a week off, the cavalry descended and slashed people with their sabers. What passed for law enforcement was a mechanism to preserve the status quo that favored the wealthy.
Eventually, a group of anarchists led by Bonnot decided enough was enough — they stole a car, a relatively new technology at the time, and a bunch of guns (at the time, the Paris police were not armed), and went on a rampage. They started stealing money from rich people, gunning down bankers and cops, and basically terrorizing Paris and the suburbs, revealing the thin lie overlaying the belle époque mindset.
The book is loosely organized around two key members of the anarchist movement in Paris at the time, the lovers (and briefly husband and wife) Victor and Rirette. He was a passionate anarchist theorist who would later become deeply involved in the Russian revolution; she was the editor of the leading anarchist newspaper and would become a friend of Albert Camus.
Victor and Rirette knew Bonnot and all the gang members and, even though they abhorred the violence, they — and all anarchists — believed maintaining the unity of anarchism in the face of the system that was crushing everyone, was more important than choosing sides or betraying confidences. They, and others, offered sanctuary when they could, and purposefully asked no questions so they could not incriminate any other anarchist. And they, and hundreds of others, were caught up in the dragnet and sent to prison even though they had done nothing wrong.
Merriman is a strong writer, and this is a fascinating story, so it makes for a cracking good ride, like a French Bonnie and Clyde (only without the Bonnie, because the Bonnot gang was all men), with intrigues and murder and narrow escapes and betrayals and blood soaked shootouts. In fact, researching the crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde for our own series of what-if novels led me to this book. The underlying economic condition of America in the 1920s and 30s was very similar to Paris in 1910, and as we saw there and here, misery leads to hopelessness, and hopelessness — at least for some — leads inexorably to violence.
It’s a little disheartening to learn how bad things were, how wide the wealth gap was, and then read the same tired sense of shock and outrage from those in charge when violence ensues that we hear today. As if there’s a great mystery to why those oppressed by the economic system lash out. The hopeful words of Victor, who — like most of the anarchists of his day — believed in a society in which everyone should be lifted up by the fruits of labor, still ring true today, more than a 100 years later.
“Victor insisted that the anarchist had to ‘resist and take action continually.’ The masses were blocked by ‘the habit of believing, the habit of obeying, the habit of being guided.’ Laws were powerless to transform society. The ‘parliamentary illusion’ simply deluded people. From the individualist perspective, ‘Bestial violence, hatred, the sheep-like mentality of [political] leaders, the gullibility of the masses — here is what must be annihilated in order to transform society … without the renovation of mankind, there is no salvation!’ The basis of anarchist morality could be found ‘in our very lives. Because it is life that inspires insubordination.’”
Victor and Rirette, like most of the anarchists of the era, did not favor violence against individuals, but they understood how anger and hopelessness could engender the urge to lash out. And they clearly saw through the lie of an economic system that promises so much and yet dooms so many to a life of despair and hopelessness. That feels as relevant today as it was a century ago in belle époque Paris.
May 16, 2020
In this book Yale historian John Merriman tells the true crime tale of a gang of self-styled French anarchists in the early 20th century who went on a crime spree in Paris and its surroundings. Anarchism in the popular imagination is often equated with violence and chaos but is better understood as a political philosophy of popular self-government and usually economic socialism. As the book makes clear there are many other offshoots of this basic framework including one known as illegalism. This philosophy provides a justification of crime as a means of taking back that which society illicitly gained at the expense of the working classes. Its practitioners were not the intellectuals of the anarchist movement but those whose education and philosophy came from the streets. With this as background, Merriman recounts the story of the Bonnot gang, its crimes and its demise at the hands of the law. It is an interesting dive into an era in Paris that was filled with radical ideas and the people who lived them.
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October 4, 2017I finally had to call it. I tried really hard to finish this book and tried to find some redeeming quality to justify finishing. I just couldn't. Based on the title and the description I was under the impression this was about an actual robbery in Paris. Unfortunately, the author decided to give an in depth, almost academic level analysis of Anarchism and it origins in early 20th century France. While I appreciate a little background information this was just to much. He jumps back an forth between France and Belgium, between anarchist group and anarchist group trying to draw parallels between people and events. It was just to tedious. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.
May 4, 2020
The book is interesting; however, the execution was okay.
I found the 1st part of the book to be boring, which I nearly put the book down multiple times. It was focused on anarchists' biographies.
The 2nd and 3rd part got my attention as details of the crime were revealed.
I still recommend the book. The content is well researched.
I found the 1st part of the book to be boring, which I nearly put the book down multiple times. It was focused on anarchists' biographies.
The 2nd and 3rd part got my attention as details of the crime were revealed.
I still recommend the book. The content is well researched.
May 15, 2024
An interesting topic told in an uninteresting manner, bogged down in boring minutiae the author has no clue how to hold interest.
January 30, 2022
This is a history of anarchist activities in late Belle Époque France, culminating in the Paris crime spree by the Bonnot Gang in 1913 and the resultant trials, imprisonments, and executions of the perpetrators. The author covers social and political history of the time, and details the diverse biographies of the anarchists.
A few highlights about the general history at the time:
1. Cars and society… the author covers the image of cars in France at the time, where they caused a good deal of social stress and excitement. The Bonnot Gang used cars in their crimes, stealing them and using their speed to get away from the police, who often just had bicycles, if that. I like how the author highlights contemporary news and commentary about cars: warning from a doctor about the threat of smoke from cars; the seeming depravity of drivers, recklessly killing dogs, children, and the elderly; a sense that cars are part of “social darwinism “, that people had to get used to them or be sidelined.
2. Crime and society: increasing stress about murders, rising in poorer parts of Paris; concerns about the “apaches,” poor youth thought to be out of control; worries that Paris was becoming “like California”, overrun with guns; popularity of police novels, like Lupin series, and newspapers increasingly devoted to crime stories
3. Diversity of anarchist and communist rhetorics: the Bonnot gang and others were often focused on overthrow of all power structures, citing the degraded lives of the working class. There were various trains of thought , sort of hard to keep straight, but some were teetotalers, not just re alcohol but also coffee, tea, and even salt.
4. Economic disparities, growth of police state, rising war-like patriotism: rising wealth and lack of similar improvements for workers, led to strikes and later disillusionment, esp for people like Victor Serge. He wrote it was increasingly hard to believe “in the renovating power of science” because science was being used “to increase the possibilities of the development of the barbaric order. We feel that an era is violence is approaching; no one can escape it.” The author gives us details that shed light on the growing patriotism, like Claude Debussy refusing to go to Munich for a music festival, and popularity of patriotic themes in popular cultures, such as patriotic songs and films titles “don’t touch our flag!”
The author connects that last point to a couple of intriguing developments emerging historically in the early 1910s. First, Serge refocuses on Russia as a locus of revolution that would accomplish what French anarchists had failed. And second, the author notes how the increasing power of the state, and police, controlling the means of violence that they could use on citizens and in wars.
While the history is fascinating, I found the storytelling about the crimes to be a little tedious. I learned a lot about the political and social milieu, which is important grounding for actions of the Bonnot Gang, but would have appreciated a little more editorial rigor to tighten up the story.
What drew me to this book was the desire to learn more about Victor Serge, the Belgian-French (born of Russian political exiles in Brussels) anarchist revolutionary who became a novelist in France. I read parts of The Unforgiving Years, his semi-autobiographical novel about France during and after WWII, and found myself wondering how he ended up in France. Serge was a side character in this history, never one of the criminals, but he nevertheless was imprisoned due to his friendship with the gang.
A few highlights about the general history at the time:
1. Cars and society… the author covers the image of cars in France at the time, where they caused a good deal of social stress and excitement. The Bonnot Gang used cars in their crimes, stealing them and using their speed to get away from the police, who often just had bicycles, if that. I like how the author highlights contemporary news and commentary about cars: warning from a doctor about the threat of smoke from cars; the seeming depravity of drivers, recklessly killing dogs, children, and the elderly; a sense that cars are part of “social darwinism “, that people had to get used to them or be sidelined.
2. Crime and society: increasing stress about murders, rising in poorer parts of Paris; concerns about the “apaches,” poor youth thought to be out of control; worries that Paris was becoming “like California”, overrun with guns; popularity of police novels, like Lupin series, and newspapers increasingly devoted to crime stories
3. Diversity of anarchist and communist rhetorics: the Bonnot gang and others were often focused on overthrow of all power structures, citing the degraded lives of the working class. There were various trains of thought , sort of hard to keep straight, but some were teetotalers, not just re alcohol but also coffee, tea, and even salt.
4. Economic disparities, growth of police state, rising war-like patriotism: rising wealth and lack of similar improvements for workers, led to strikes and later disillusionment, esp for people like Victor Serge. He wrote it was increasingly hard to believe “in the renovating power of science” because science was being used “to increase the possibilities of the development of the barbaric order. We feel that an era is violence is approaching; no one can escape it.” The author gives us details that shed light on the growing patriotism, like Claude Debussy refusing to go to Munich for a music festival, and popularity of patriotic themes in popular cultures, such as patriotic songs and films titles “don’t touch our flag!”
The author connects that last point to a couple of intriguing developments emerging historically in the early 1910s. First, Serge refocuses on Russia as a locus of revolution that would accomplish what French anarchists had failed. And second, the author notes how the increasing power of the state, and police, controlling the means of violence that they could use on citizens and in wars.
While the history is fascinating, I found the storytelling about the crimes to be a little tedious. I learned a lot about the political and social milieu, which is important grounding for actions of the Bonnot Gang, but would have appreciated a little more editorial rigor to tighten up the story.
What drew me to this book was the desire to learn more about Victor Serge, the Belgian-French (born of Russian political exiles in Brussels) anarchist revolutionary who became a novelist in France. I read parts of The Unforgiving Years, his semi-autobiographical novel about France during and after WWII, and found myself wondering how he ended up in France. Serge was a side character in this history, never one of the criminals, but he nevertheless was imprisoned due to his friendship with the gang.
September 28, 2022
Sweet irony: a life-long government bureaucrat thinking he can understand freedom, while working diligently at propping up the State.
August 30, 2018
It's an mediocre book based on the anarchist point of view and almost given in a sympathetic telling of them.
February 5, 2019
The Bonnot Gang launched a campaign of murder, bank robbery, car theft and burglary in pre-World War One Paris that threatened to transform the City of Light into a European version of 1920s Chicago. Historian John Merriman tells this story in remarkable detail, using a trove of archived police reports and newspaper accounts to track the crimes of an anarchist faction known as the the Illegals and the massive police operation needed to bring them to justice.
December 6, 2017
Interesting but somewhat muddled account of the period from December 21, 1911 to May 14, 1912 when so-called "illegalist" anarchists led by Jean Bonnot when on a crime and murder spree.
Unlike today's so-called anarchists, those of la belle epoque France were from the lowest rungs of the working class. The "illegalists" advocated an extreme form of resistance to the French state and society by embracing criminality. It was mostly non-violent petty crimes until the Bonnot gang arose. The distinction between political revolutionaries and common violence prone criminals was blurred by the Bonnot gang's bloody rampage in the suburbs of Paris.
In the course of a rapid trial after the arrest of the surviving Bonnot gang members a huge miscarry of justice was inflicted upon a totally innocent man: Victor Serge, nee Kibaltchiche. Serge opposed illegalist anarchism, his only crime was he knew members of the Bonnot gang personally and was the editor of an anarchist newspaper.
The book suffered from a lack of proofreading.
Unlike today's so-called anarchists, those of la belle epoque France were from the lowest rungs of the working class. The "illegalists" advocated an extreme form of resistance to the French state and society by embracing criminality. It was mostly non-violent petty crimes until the Bonnot gang arose. The distinction between political revolutionaries and common violence prone criminals was blurred by the Bonnot gang's bloody rampage in the suburbs of Paris.
In the course of a rapid trial after the arrest of the surviving Bonnot gang members a huge miscarry of justice was inflicted upon a totally innocent man: Victor Serge, nee Kibaltchiche. Serge opposed illegalist anarchism, his only crime was he knew members of the Bonnot gang personally and was the editor of an anarchist newspaper.
The book suffered from a lack of proofreading.
January 21, 2018
Author bias ruins what could have been an interesting book. There are numerous examples but one that particularly annoyed me was when he went out of his way to insult the police officers who were decorated for their part in bringing down Bonnot. He was heavily armed and had murdered numerous people, there were injuries suffered and heroism displayed. It doesn't matter how many cops were involved in the assault or how stacked the odds.
The anarchists he tries to present as sympathetic and not involved with the bandits are often condemned not only by their own words but by the evidence he brings up only to try and dismiss later. At the end of the day very few of these people were deserving of sympathy. They weren't political activists being unjustly persecuted by the state. They were cold-blooded murderers.
The anarchists he tries to present as sympathetic and not involved with the bandits are often condemned not only by their own words but by the evidence he brings up only to try and dismiss later. At the end of the day very few of these people were deserving of sympathy. They weren't political activists being unjustly persecuted by the state. They were cold-blooded murderers.
July 4, 2019
This is a personal account of the early 20th Century Parisian circles of individualist and individualist-adjacent anarchists and the Bonnot Gang which emerged from them, seen primarily through the lives of Rirette Maîtrejean and Victor Serge. No myth, and only very thin political analysis. The audiobook is well-read and enjoyable; its contents render the moral plea against piracy at the end all the more ridiculous.
I only wish that the author conveyed the same passion for a new and better world that Serge's writings do. A liberal bitterness flows in in its absence.
I only wish that the author conveyed the same passion for a new and better world that Serge's writings do. A liberal bitterness flows in in its absence.
May 5, 2018
Never heard of the Bonnot gang but fascinated with all kinds of history gave it a go. Glad I did l was absorbed with it and afterwards wanted to know more about anarchists ideology. Interesting and exciting story. Beware it's a brutal and savage story but never the less it did happen, and the time just before world war 1
January 25, 2019
A well-researched, balanced and nicely written history book about a not so well known outside France period. It's quite fascinating to read how crime and terrorism have always shook society deeply under every point of view.
However, I would have preferred a different structure in terms of narration. I know quite a bit about french history and I felt at loss at times, so I can't help but think how someone who knows absolutely nothing about the time period and the location would feel.
This might of course due to the facts that I listened to this book rather than read it, hence I will probably read it again and, eventually, change the score I have given it.
However, I would have preferred a different structure in terms of narration. I know quite a bit about french history and I felt at loss at times, so I can't help but think how someone who knows absolutely nothing about the time period and the location would feel.
This might of course due to the facts that I listened to this book rather than read it, hence I will probably read it again and, eventually, change the score I have given it.
November 18, 2023
Lots of detail in this account of anarchist criminal gangs in pre-WW1 France, but the author does a good job of sorting out the personalities and agendas of the players. I was especially interested in the influence of the high profile crimes of the Bonnot gang on popular culture, specifically the birth of Fantomas, arguably one of the first supervillains of literature. I was also struck by how much these crimes prefigure America's prohibition-era gangsters a decade later, though our domestic thugs were driven by profit rather than ideology. Definitely a different view of France on the cusp of modern culture and also a reminder of the outcome of chronic income disparity between the classes.
December 28, 2025
Honestly it’s a great story. The closest thing I can imagine it as is Bonny and Clyde here in America. Very intriguing and a unskippable part of French History.
I do have two problems with the book though. First is that with my lack of knowledge of the French language the first Hundred or so pages are difficult to keep track of what is happening. Those chapters are absolutely necessary for context I just couldn’t understand most of it without looking up meanings.
Second, the writing was a drag. It felt as though each chapter was one long run-on sentence.
I’ll have to try other books on the topic to see how they stack up.
I do have two problems with the book though. First is that with my lack of knowledge of the French language the first Hundred or so pages are difficult to keep track of what is happening. Those chapters are absolutely necessary for context I just couldn’t understand most of it without looking up meanings.
Second, the writing was a drag. It felt as though each chapter was one long run-on sentence.
I’ll have to try other books on the topic to see how they stack up.
June 27, 2022
Terrific book tha I listened to on Audible. I have come across John Merriman jst recently on Youtube, just before his death in 2022, and am in awe of his grasp of history. Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits is extremely well researched and written. The details about Paris, France and Europe in the early part of the 20th centrury are extrordinary. He has brilliantly ut together the narrative of the key protaginists. Highly recommended.
November 27, 2017
Unlike some of my fellow readers here, I loved that this book was mostly history and did not entirely focus on the robberies but gave an excellent introduction (for me, at least) to the varieties of anarchists. I found it to be an interesting piece of the larger 20th century historical puzzle. I listened to the audiobook and found the reader to be exceptional.
April 19, 2018
Merriman's fast-paced account of the anarchist Bonnot gang set in belle-epoque Paris, a city with rampant poverty and proletariat heroes, reads like a brilliant Zola novel. Indeed, there's not much here ol' Emile would disagree with.
December 23, 2022
Merriman's research is impeccable, his writing clear and descriptive. I found this tale to be honest, hopeful, and ultimately disheartening for anyone living in pursuit of seeing their ideals made reality in society.
November 12, 2025
Only giving 3 stars despite the book being really well written. It’s mostly because I struggled to connect with these historical figures who are zealots of certain ideologies and would do anything to justify their beliefs.
February 27, 2018
A tough read, very difficult to finish. While I think the premise behind the book was good (it is after all non-fiction) it's a tough book to stay in grossed in.
March 11, 2018
Though virtually unknown here in the U.S., the tale of "The Anarchist bandits" is as compelling as any of out tales of the Old West period. Well worth the read...
December 19, 2021
A fun, informative, and very entertaining read. The audiobook version is excellent as well.
July 12, 2024
Some parts are a little dry, but otherwise an in-depth account of the Bonnot Gang. Best bits were the political movements at the time and how Paris and Europe were changing.
July 23, 2019
Pretty decent read-the crime spree is a by product of the blind industrialism of Europe pre-WWI, where the gap between rich and poor widened, created the atmosphere in which anarchism could spread. Anarchists were broken into sects, with the most violent being the "illegalists," who believed in the "propaganda of the act." This theory gave justification to violent crimes committed in the name of anarchism, including murder and theft. The book is a little tedious at times, as it tends to become a listing of events and names, and less a narrative.
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