Jules Bonnot - The Bonnot Gang

The Bonnot Gang

In December 1911, having moved to Paris to avoid arrest, Bonnot joined a criminal anarchist affinity group led by Octave Garnier. On December 21, the gang made national news when they robbed a messenger of the Société Générale Bank in broad daylight and then fled in a limousine (the first ever criminal use of a "get-away" car). They were branded "les bandits en auto" by the press and a wave of panic swept the nation.

Although Bonnot was never the leader of the group, the gang was dubbed the "Bonnot Gang" by the press after Bonnot appeared, armed with a Browning automatic, in the office of the Le Petit Parisien to file a complaint about the daily paper's coverage of the group. Bonnot was quoted as having stated, "We'll burn off our last round against the cops, and if they don't care to come, we'll certainly know how to find them."

This show of bravado coupled with the gang's criminal activities led to a general state of hysteria within middle-class French society.