The Gang des Tractions Avant was a criminal gang in the Pigalle quarter of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, made up of surviving members of the ''

Carlingue The Carlingue (or French Gestapo) were French auxiliaries who worked for the Gestapo, Sicherheitsdienst and Geheime Feldpolizei during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. The group, which was based at 93 rue Lauriston in th ...

'' militia, lapsed police officers and criminals from the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. Most of them had moved from collaboration with the German occupiers to the Resistance, and then moved into organised crime—though even if their milieu changed, their behaviour and methods remained the same. The gang was named after its preferred vehicle, the Citroën 11CV "Traction".Les vrais Tontons flingueurs
/ref> Its methods were largely derived from those of the Bonnot Gang and were mostly continued by a number of other gangs, notably the gang des postiches. The Gang des Tractions Avant gave rise to the writings of

Alphonse Boudard Alphonse Boudard (17 December 1925 – 14 January 2000) was a French novelist and playwright. He won the 1977 Prix Renaudot for ''Les Combattants du petit bonheur''. Boudard's 1995 novel ''Dying childhood '' was awarded and recognised by the ...

and

Roger Borniche Roger Borniche (7 June 1919 – 16 June 2020) was a French author and detective of the Sûreté nationale. Borniche was born in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, Oise. He started as a singer, but his fledgling musical career was interrupted by the German ...

, the movies of Jean-Luc Godard and

Jacques Deray Jacques Deray (born Jacques Desrayaud; 19 February 1929 – 9 August 2003) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films. Biography Born Jacques Desrayaud in Lyon, France, in ...

, a TV series by

Josée Dayan Josée Dayan (born 6 October 1943 in Toulouse, France) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life Dayan grew up in Algiers, Algeria, where her father Albert Dagnant, who came from a Jewish family, worked as a television directo ...

, and a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

by Serge Laget and Alain Munoz.

Members

Its most famous members were * Pierre Loutrel (1916-1946), known as "Pierrot le Fou", France's first "public enemy number one" * Émile Buisson, or "Mimile" (1902-1956

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

d), Loutrel's lieutenant, and his successor as "public enemy number one". He was finally arrested by

René la Canne ''Rene the Cane'' (french: René la Canne, it, Tre simpatiche carogne) is a 1977 French-Italian crime film directed by Francis Girod and starring Sylvia Kristel and Gérard Depardieu. It was released in France in 1977 and recorded admissions of ...

, or René Girier (1919-2000) nicknamed "the king of évasion" * Abel Danos known as "le Mammouth" (the Mammoth) * Georges Boucheseiche, later became embroiled in the Ben Barka affair * François Marcantoni (1920-2010) known as "Monsieur François", suspected in

The Markovic affair ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* Jo Attia, also became embroiled in that affair

Bibliography

* Charles Bacelon,

Max Clos Max Clos (6 January 1925, Ludwigshafen – 9 March 2002) was a 20th-century French journalistMort du journaliste Max Clos', Libération, 9 mars 2002 and the former editor-in-chief of ''Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newsp ...

, etc. ''Histoire du banditisme et des grandes affaires criminelles'', Genève : éditions Famot, 1974. OCLC 77615747

References

{{reflist Gangs in France