The Cagoulard Conspiracy
The atmosphere of plot and intrigue that surrounded the last few years of the Third Republic, writes Geoffrey Warner, has given French right wing extremists a taste for armed conspiracy.
On January 27th, 1937, Dmitri Navachine, a distinguished Russian-born economist, was stabbed to death in the Bois de Boulogne near Paris.
On May 17th, 1937, the body of Laetitia Tourreaux, a hat-check girl in a Paris night-club, was found in the first-class compartment of an underground train near Porte Doree station. She, too, had been stabbed.
On June 11th, 1937, police discovered the bodies of two Italians, Carlo and Sabatino Rosselli, in a wood near Bagnoles-de-l’Orne in Normandy. They had been killed with hideous brutality, the body of Sabatino Rosselli bearing seventeen knife wounds.
On September 11th, 1937, two time-bombs exploded at about 10pm at the offices of the General Confederation of French Employers and at those of the Paris branch of the Metal Industries Federation, both near the Etoile in Paris. The buildings were empty, but a concierge was injured and two policemen killed by falling debris.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
