Podcast Summary

Podcast: Le Cours de l’histoire
Episode: Brigands, des histoires hors-la-loi : "La bourse ou la vie", bandes et contrebande organisée
Date: March 12, 2025
Host: Xavier Mauduit (France Culture)
Guests:

• Lise Andriès, directrice de recherche en littérature française au CNRS
• Valérie Sotokassa, professeure d’histoire moderne à l’Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès

Overview:

This episode examines the world of brigands in France from the Enlightenment into the Revolution, exploring the social, economic, and political dimensions of organized banditry. Through historical analysis, literary references, and notable examples—such as Cartouche and Mandrin—the discussion uncovers how these outlaws navigated between the margins and the center of society, and the ambiguous legacy they left: feared, romanticized, sometimes even seen as heroes or rebelling against injustice.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What is a Brigand? Definitions and Origins

• The term’s origin: From Italian briga (troop), implying association with groups or bands, similar to the modern “gangster/gang” dynamic. (01:20)
• Not just an individual but a collective phenomenon, typically male and reliant on violence and charisma.
  • “Qu’on parle de cartouche ou de mandrin, on n’a pas affaire à un seul homme, même si c’est un individu qui entre dans la légende. On a affaire à tout un groupe.” — Lise Andriès (02:17)

2. Geography and Spaces of Brigandage

• Main settings:
  • Rural: “Brigands de grand chemin”, operating in the countryside where police presence is limited. (03:03)
  • Urban: Bands also existed in major cities, notably Paris. The “cours des miracles” functioned like shantytowns—epicenters of extreme poverty and marginality where banditry thrived. (06:40-08:49)
• Factors for increased banditry:
  • Economic disparities (e.g., regional taxes like the gabelle on salt), less-effective law enforcement, lack of lighting, physical proximity to trade routes. (09:35-11:35)
• Quote: “Les campagnes semblent beaucoup plus dépourvues de moyens de défense… Il y a donc un rapprochement entre le fait militaire et le brigandage.” — Valérie Sotokassa (03:03)

3. Organization, Mobility, and Social Background

• Brigand bands are fluid: core members (sometimes family-based), but others join for specific actions and then may return to society. Rarely a continuous “profession.” (12:13)
• Social composition varied: from soldiers without salary, to artisans, to urban poor, including some women—usually as companions or for specific types of theft (e.g., “enquilleuses” using hidden pockets). (16:02, 22:23)
• “Il y a des bandes qui sont assez mouvantes du point de vue de leur composition.” — Valérie Sotokassa (12:13)

4. Famous Figures: Cartouche & Mandrin

Cartouche (Louis Dominique Garthausen):

• Parisian, son of a German mercenary, operated early 18th century.
• Band included family and a mix of working-class Parisians; died young (executed at 28). (16:02-18:45)
• Subject of plays and popular literature; mythologized, especially posthumously.

Mandrin (Louis Mandrin):

• Active mid-18th century, especially known for fighting the tax authority (“Ferme Générale”) and engaging in contraband (“contrebandiers”).
• Gained a strong “social bandit” reputation—seen as fighting unjust taxation.
• Noted for a code of conduct (e.g., forbidding murder, especially of non-targets and women), contributing to popularity; became a symbol of opposition to oppressive systems.
• His testament (apocryphal, but influential) positioned him as a people’s champion, politically charged and later recycled during the French Revolution. (31:33-33:57)
  • “Qu’un chacun plaint, que tout le monde regrette, à qui une infinité de gens voudraient racheter la vie de leur propre sang.” — (Testament de Mandrin, 32:18)

5. Brigandage, Violence, and Gender

• Extreme violence, sometimes mythologized or softened in literature, was a reality—though with complex codes (e.g., Mandrin’s prohibition of murder).
• Women were rarely leaders but did exist (notably Marion Dufaouette, Marie L’Escalier in Brittany). Women were often victims or secondary figures in bands, but also occupied specialized roles (“enquilleuses”). (18:55-22:23)
• Literary depictions, such as those by the Abbé Prévost or in Dumas, fascinated by female violence, are often inventions rather than reflections of reality. (23:30-25:19)

6. Social, Political, and Economic Dimensions

• Social banditry debated: Mandrin seen as closer to the Robin Hood ideal; Cartouche less so.
• Brigandage acted as an economic protest (smuggling, resistance to taxes) and at times as direct political rebellion (especially as Revolution approached).
• Use of the term “brigand” often politicized: during and after 1789, it was liberally applied to political enemies (royalists, revolutionaries), reinforcing revolutionary or counter-revolutionary propaganda. (51:12, 52:23)
  • “Pendant la Révolution, le mot brigand… est attaché à beaucoup plus de groupes.” — Lise Andriès (51:13)

7. Revolution, Fear, and Transformations

• The Revolution amplified the myth and the political charge of brigands:
  • “La grande peur” (mid-July 1789) involved mass fear of marauding bands, as political and social order faltered. (43:41-44:55)
• Some bands took explicitly political roles—on both sides (republican and royalist), blurring lines between criminality and politics. (48:57-50:47)
  • “Là, on a une assimilation des contestations, des violences politiques avec le brigandage.” — Valérie Sotokassa (50:47)
• Chouans in western France: former contrabandists converted into royalist insurgents, illustrating the overlap between economic, criminal, and political resistance. (52:37-54:45)

8. Suppression and Legacy

• End of 18th and 19th centuries: increasing policing (especially rural—creation and reform of the gendarmerie) curtailed banditry.
• Notorious bands like the “Chauffeurs d’Orgère” (who tortured for money, notably by burning victims’ feet) left a legacy of horror and fascination.
  • “Ils assassinaient, ils violaient, ils incendiaient, ils volaient, mais on y chauffait peu… C’était une méthode qui avait déjà été employée…” (46:57-48:57)
• Final point: the enduring myth is fueled by literature, song (“La complainte de Mandrin”), and the dichotomy between the miserable, the criminal, and the romanticized rebel.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On collective banditry:

  “Qu’on parle de cartouche ou de mandrin, on n’a pas affaire à un seul homme… On a affaire à tout un groupe.” — Lise Andriès (02:17)

• On the ambiguity of urban poverty and crime:

  “Est-ce qu’elles étaient peuplées de brigands? Je n’en sais rien. Elles étaient peuplées de ceux que la ville avait placés à la marge.” — Lise Andriès (07:47)

• On the enchantment of the city at night versus its danger:

  “Prêtez donc une oreille à ce tuti des clochers… que cette symphonie qui fait le bruit d’une tempête.” — Victor Hugo, read by Roger Monteux (06:13)

• On the code of Mandrin’s band:

  “Pas de meurtre. On ne s’attaque qu’aux grands.” — Cartouche (as depicted in the 1962 film, 15:25)

• On Mandrin’s myth and social capital:

  “Le peuple aime ce Mandrin à la fureur… il s’intéresse à celui qui mange les mangeurs de gens.” — Voltaire (29:35)

• On the “testament” of Mandrin:

  “Je ne suis pas un héros… J’ai déchargé le peuple d’une partie des impôts dont le poids l’accablait. Mais c’est en vain que je voudrais prendre le titre pompeux de protecteur du peuple.” — (31:33)

• On revolutionary political violence and the extension of the “brigand” label:

  “Les lois du directoire qui veulent les réprimer sont des lois qui s’appellent des lois contre le brigandage. Et donc là, on a une assimilation des contestations, des violences politiques avec le brigandage.” — Valérie Sotokassa (50:47)

• On suppression and the transformation of public safety:

  “…avec notamment la gendarmerie, ça arrive un petit peu à stopper ce mouvement du brigandage. Vive les gendarmes!” — Xavier Mauduit (56:25)

Key Timestamps

• Definition and early history: 01:20 – 03:03
• Urban/rural distinctions, poverty, Cours des miracles: 06:40 – 08:49
• Geography and tax links (gabelle): 09:35 – 11:35
• Composition and movement of bands: 12:13 – 14:16
• Cartouche and Mandrin, the myth and the man: 16:02 – 22:23
• Women in brigandage: 18:55 – 23:30
• Literature vs. reality and the creation of myths: 23:30 – 26:47
• Social banditry debate: 27:24 – 33:57
• Revolutionary amplification—the Great Fear, political violence: 43:41 – 50:47
• Suppression and the gendarmerie: 56:25 – end

Conclusion

The episode provides a nuanced picture of brigandage as both a symptom and a catalyst of broader social tensions in France from the Enlightenment to the Revolution. While a few names like Cartouche and Mandrin loom large due to their exceptional charisma, violence, or myth-making, the phenomenon is revealed as varied: sometimes protest, sometimes predation, sometimes both, always reflecting the underlying realities of economic hardship, political change, and popular fascination with the “hors-la-loi.”

Further Reading:

• Lise Andriès, Bandit, Pirate et Hors-la-Loi au Temps des Lumières
• Valérie Sotokassa, Les Brigands et la Révolution. Violences politiques et criminalité dans le Midi