Today there was an article in Le Parisien (my favorite newspaper!) about an old man who claims to be the real Papillon, inspiring the movie with Steve McQueen. I was a fan of the book, genre Escape From Devil's Island, so here goes! A real-life story that is like one from the movies.
The former convict who says he was Papillon
Domont (Val-d'Oise)
His hands gripping his wheelchair, Charles Brunier does not really understand why he was dressed up to come out of his room yesterday morning, at the nursing home Orpa-Val-de-France in Domont (Val-d'Oise). This ex-con has been in peaceful retirement here for the past 12 years. Solitary, the old man of 104 has no more family and never receives any visitors. He affirms that he is the man who inspired Henri Charrière, author of the celebrated Papillon, who, he says, stole his identity. Yesterday, Léon Bertrand, the Minister of Tourism, came to see him. The minister wanted to evoke the memory of his grandfather, Bertrand Lucien, who was a convict in the prison of Cayenne in French Guyana. "Perhaps he knew him," says Léon Bertrand.
Charles Brunier was behind bars for fifteen years in the prison of Guyana, which closed its doors in 1953 after having welcomed almost 70,000 prisoners in a hundred years. He does not remember the minister's grandfather. However, he has not forgotten the jails of Saint-Laurent-de-Maroni, the violent behavior of the prison guards, "and especially the mosquitoes." It is there that he became acquainted with Henri Charrière, who became famous under the name of Papillon [butterfly], the title of his autobiographical bestseller of 1969.
But Charles Brunier, his old companion from prison, claims and has always said that all Charrière did was take Brunier's own story as his inspiration to write the book. And his story is rich in comebacks. Enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17, Charles Brunier succeeded, with some other men, in rescuing an encircled unit during the campaign in Syria. On that occasion he saved the life of a lieutenant before being wounded himself, deeds which earned him the Croix de Guerre. A few years later, he stumbled: in Troyes (Aube), after meeting a prostitute who proposed to work for him, he stabbed and wounded the girl's pimp, a certain Chopette, during a fight in a bar called the Mauvais Garçons [the Bad Boys]. Condemned to forced labor for life for the murder of an old lady in 1923, he was sent to the prison colony.
A tattoo on his shoulder
Charles Brunier, who called himself "Johnny King" in the prison colony, managed to escape three times. During the Second World War he enlisted as a fighter pilot in Mexico, where he had taken refuge after his second prison escape. For two years he hunted German submarines in the Caribbean, before continuing the war in Africa. After being decorated a second time in Brazzaville, in the Congo, by General De Gaulle in person, Charles Brunier took part in the Allied invasion of Italy. He finished the war as an adjutant-chef. This did not keep him from being sent back to the prison colony in Guyana. It was not until June 12th, 1948, that the President of the Pardon Commission gave him a complete pardon "because of his skilled conduct during the course of the hostilities."
On his return to France, Charles Brunier settled in Domont, where he lived peacefully among neighbors who knew nothing of his past. During his free time, the former Convict 47355 built model ships, which he still keeps safe in his room at the nursing home. In spite of his 104 years, Charles still has a bright eye and can express himself, "but only when he feels like it," says the nursing-home staff. Yesterday, he did not feel much like it. He found it "incredible" that the grandson of a convict could be a minister-- he, without a family, who fought for many years in vain to clear his name, "to give an honest name" to the woman he loved. But he did not say a word about his own history.
The story of Henri Charrière, who died in 1973 at the age of 67, has been subject to controversy for a long time. In his book Papillon épinglé [Butterfly pinned down] (published in 1970 by Presses de la Cité), Gérard de Villiers, the creator of SAS [a James-Bond-style detective-novel hero], noted anomalies. "Not everything is false, but most of the adventures happened to others, not to Papillon, and sometimes years earlier," he said. These accusations were confirmed by a former prison guard. In a report of 24 pages addressed to the Ministry of Justice in December 1969, he said, "On can affirm that Charrière credited himself with adventures he imagined or which happened to other people." Coincidence or not, Charles Brunier has many tattoos on his body, among them a butterfly, and his left index finger is atrophied. Two distinctive marks of the most famous of convicts.
--by Eric Delporte and Olivier Sureau
FACTS
--May 31 1901. Charles Armand Brunier born in Paris, 16th arrondissement [tiens tiens!]
--1918. Enlisted in the Navy, he is decorated with the Croix de Guerre for military deeds in Syria.
--July 17, 1923. Condemned to forced labor for life for murder, grand theft, blows and wounds. He is sent to the prison colony in Guyana.
--1925. First attempted escape. He tries again in 1926, then in 1928. With four other convicts, on a tiny boat, he reaches the coast of Venezuela. He is recaptured in Bogotá, Colombia, and sent to the Iles du Salut [Health Islands!], from which he tries to escape in 1936.
--June 18, 1940. He listens to the appeal of General De Gaulle while in a Mexican tavern, where he had found refuge after a new escape in 1939 aboard a canoe. He enlists in a commando unit and becomes a fighter pilot.
--1942-1945. His conduct during the African campaign (Chad, Senegal, Mauritania...) earns him the honor of being decorated by General De Gaulle. Still being sought as an escaped convict, he is sent back to the prison colony.
--June 12, 1948. The Pardons Committee grants a pardon to Charles Brunier "because of his skillful conduct during the course of the hostilities."
--1969. Publication of the book Papillon, written by an ex-convict, Henri Charrière. The book sells 250,000 copies.
--1973. The film Papillon comes out, starring Steve McQueen. New triumph.
--December 1993. Charles Brunier enters the nursing home Orpa-Val-de-France, in Domont.
Fascinating article!
Posted by: Franje | 17 December 2005 at 21:17
Wow, thank you so much for that, I really enjoyed it! :)
Posted by: Vivi | 18 December 2005 at 10:37
Prezado Editor
Lendo seu comentário a respeito de Henri Charrière, quero respeitosamente informá-lo que já foi comprovado que Henri Charrière foi o maior farsante da literatura mundial.
Foram 15 anos investigando esse caso!
Foram realizadas quatro pericias a mais recente a dos Peritos Federais Brasileiros considerados os melhores de todo o planeta! Verdades que eles fizeram questão de divulgar em seu site, com este titulo: - PERITO DA POLICIA FEDERAL ENCONTRA EM RORAIMA O VERDADEIRO PAPILLON http://plataopapillon.com.br/papillon/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=1
EL DORADO A GRANDE MENTIRA DE HENRI CHARRIÈRE:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:99_u28VbyGgJ:www.jornalorebate.com/colunistas2/pla1.htm+El+Dorado%2BPapillon&cd=2&hl=pt-BR&ct=clnk&gl=br
BLOG PAPILLON
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:NnZGR8PfZ_kJ:www.plataopapillon.blogspot.com/+Normandia%2BPapillon&cd=13&hl=pt-BR&ct=clnk&gl=br
Platão Arantes
Jornalista registro profissional 1.093 FENAJ
plataopapillon@gmail.com
0xx (95) 81129898
Posted by: Platão Arantes | 10 July 2009 at 21:28
My inexpert translation of the previous comment:
Dear Editor,
Reading your commentary with respect to Henri Charrière, I would like respectfully to inform you that it has already been proven that Henri Charrière was the greatest joker in world literature. I have been investigating this case for 15 years!
There have been four experts, the most recent being the Peritos Federais Brasileiros, considered the best on the whole planet! Truths that they insist on divulging on their site: Experts of the Federal Police coming across Roraima, or, the real Papillon: http://plataopapillon.com.br/papillon/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=1
El Dorado: The big lie of Henri Charrière
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:99_u28VbyGgJ:www.jornalorebate.com/colunistas2/pla1.htm+El+Dorado%2BPapillon&cd=2&hl=pt-BR&ct=clnk&gl=br
Blog Papillon
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:NnZGR8PfZ_kJ:www.plataopapillon.blogspot.com/+Normandia%2BPapillon&cd=13&hl=pt-BR&ct=clnk&gl=br
Platão Arantes
Registered professional journalist 1.093 FENAJ
plataopapillon@gmail.com
0xx (95) 81129898
Posted by: Sedulia | 11 July 2009 at 15:26
Excellent book but I did think he portrayed himself as a bit of a superhero. Now I know why - pure fantasy !!!!
Posted by: al | 02 December 2009 at 14:21
in my opinion it doesn't matter if the book is pure fantasy or fiction, what matters is the effect it has on you. Papillon is an inspirational book which encourages hope and will, whatever the circumstances. Who cares if the stories are actually a collection of experiences of many people. Most of us will never experience anything of that calibre anyway. A second-hand account is more realistic than a fantasy, at least someone lived through it to tell the tale.
Posted by: josie | 24 February 2010 at 00:19