Clement Duval
FranceBiography of Clément Duval
Clément Duval was a French anarchist and criminal who played a significant role in the formation of illegalism with his ideas of "individual reparation." He served in the Fifth Infantry Battalion during the Franco-Prussian War and was wounded in a mortar attack. While recovering in the hospital, he contracted smallpox. This extended his hospital stay to four years, leaving him unable to work and forcing him into a life of theft.
During his imprisonment for stealing eighty francs, Duval joined the anarchist group known as the "Panthers of Batignolles." On October 25, 1886, Duval broke into the mansion of a Parisian aristocrat, stole 15,000 francs, and accidentally set the house on fire. He was captured two weeks later while attempting to sell the stolen goods. During his arrest, Duval managed to severely injure police officer Rossignol, who miraculously survived.
The trial of Duval turned into a demonstration by his supporters and ended in riots. As he was being escorted from the courthouse, Duval shouted, "Long live anarchy!" He was sentenced to be guillotined but later had his punishment commuted to penal labor on Devil's Island in French Guiana. In an interview with the anarchist newspaper Revolte, Duval proclaimed, "Theft exists only as a result of the exploitation of one human being by another... When society denies you the right to exist, you must take it for yourself... The police arrested me in the name of the law, and I struck back in the name of Freedom."
After the trial, Duval spent the next 14 years in prison, making over 20 escape attempts. In April 1901, one of his attempts was successful, and he made his way to New York, where he lived until the age of 85. In 1929, his memoirs were published, detailing his experiences and his anarchist beliefs.
