Joëlle Aubron (26 June 1959 – 1 March 2006) was a militant in the French group Action directe.

Action directe involvement and arrests

Arrested on 9 April 1982, she was sentenced to 4 years in prison for concealment and possession of arms. In 1983, she married

Régis Schleicher Action Directe (; AD; ) was a French far-left militant organization that originated from the anti-Franco struggle and the autonomous movement, and was responsible for deadly attacks in France between 1979 and 1987. The French government banne ...

, another member of Action directe, whom she later divorced. Granted a remission of sentence following her marriage, she was released on 24 January 1984. She began running an anarchist bookshop, then went underground in 1985, when she joined the arm of Action directe that allied itself with the

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...

. She participated in several attacks organized by Action directe, including the assassinations of General René Audran on 25 January 1985 and

Georges Besse Georges Besse (25 December 1927 – 17 November 1986) was a French businessman who helped lead several large state-controlled companies. He was assassinated outside his Paris home in front of one of his children by the armed group Action direct ...

on 19 November 1986. Joëlle Aubron, along with Nathalie Ménigon, is considered to be directly responsible for these two assassinations, though their respective roles have not been determined. Arrested with her comrades

Jean-Marc Rouillan Action Directe (; AD; ) was a French far-left militant organization that originated from the anti-Franco struggle and the autonomous movement, and was responsible for deadly attacks in France between 1979 and 1987. The French government banne ...

, Nathalie Ménigon and Georges Cipriani on 21 February 1987 on a farm in

Vitry-aux-Loges Vitry-aux-Loges () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Population See also * Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of France. The communes co ...

(

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

), she was sentenced in 1989 and 1994 to life in prison, with a minimum of 18 years. She was imprisoned at the

Fleury-Mérogis Prison Fleury-Mérogis Prison (''Maison d'arrêt de Fleury-Mérogis'') is a prison in France, located in the town of Fleury-Mérogis, in the southern suburbs of Paris. With more than 4,100 prisoners, it is the largest prison in Europe. It is operated b ...

Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

Release

After undergoing operations for a brain tumour, she was released on 16 June 2004 and her sentence suspended by the law of 4 March 2002 concerning the rights of patients.

Documentary

In 2005, she appeared in the documentary '' Ni vieux, ni traîtres'', directed by

Pierre Carles Pierre Carles is a French documentary filmmaker. He has been compared to Michael Moore for his use of the documentary form to denounce mass media, mainstream media, which he accuses of having Conflict of interest, conflicts of interest. Filmogra ...

and Georges Minangoy.

Death

Joëlle Aubron died on 1 March 2006, at the age of 46, from a cancer that had metastasized towards her brain.

References

External links

Video of Joëlle Aubron

Interview of Joëlle Aubron on Saturday, 28 August 2004 (''Libération'')

Quand le militantisme fait le choix des armes : les femmes d'action directe et les médias
par Fanny Bugnon {{DEFAULTSORT:Aubron, Joelle 1959 births 2006 deaths Autonomism Anarchist assassins French assassins French anarchists French female murderers French people convicted of murder French prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People from Neuilly-sur-Seine People imprisoned on terrorism charges People convicted of murder by France Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France Deaths from brain cancer in France