The real Papillon (translation of newspaper article)

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 is 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 bring up 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 Cayenne prison, which closed its doors in 1953 after having taken in 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." There 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 claimed that all Charrière did was take Brunier's own story as his inspiration for the book. Brunier's story is rich in comebacks. Enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17, he 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 [roughly equivalent to a U.S. sergeant major or British warrant officer]. 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 24-page report 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 Îles 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.

Comments

[Franje]

Fascinating article!

[Vivi]

Wow, thank you so much for that, I really enjoyed it! :)

[Platão Arantes]

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
[email protected]
0xx (95) 81129898

[Sedulia]

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
[email protected]
0xx (95) 81129898

[al]

Excellent book but I did think he portrayed himself as a bit of a superhero. Now I know why - pure fantasy !!!!

[josie]

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.

[Alex Wasinowicz]

Irrespective of Henri Charrier's (Papillon)possible fantasy, the fact of the matter is, he indeed, alongside other prisoners of the penal colony suffered inhuman treatment at the hand's of a brutal regime; he was confined to solitary and he did escape...how many prisoners did not survive? Henri Charrier was without question a very, very tough human being, who deserves credit alone for his survival of a barbaric and despicable French legal system.

[DIGGER]

WELL SAID ALEX WASINOWICZ- YOU'VE COME ALONG WAY! A FRIEND WHO'S BEEN LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER'S. ?

[[email protected]]

Papillon was without question a very durable person who had special vitalities that deserved him the recognition of a survivor.

[Robert]

QUOTE: 'Papillon is an inspirational book which encourages hope and will, whatever the circumstances'

I HAVE READ BOTH Henri Charrier's BOOK'S YES GOOD...HOWEVER FOLKS YOU HAVE SEEN OR READ NOTHING...CHECK THIS OUT, AND YES. THAT'S a real yes this is TRUE: http://www.christophervvparnell.com

[André Neesken]

Acompanhem os fascinantes debates sobre as teorias do livro de Platão no blog da deputada Surita, confiram : http://www.teresasurita.com/2011/05/literatura-%E2%80%9Cpapillon-o-homem-que-enganou-o-mundo%E2%80%9D.html#comment-1126 ( This post is a link to interesting discussions in a blog of a Brazilian deputy, where it was proven that the journalist Platão Arantes was totally wrong trying to discredit Charrière )

[osman salim]

Aslında iki kitabı da okuyanlar kitaplar arasında bazı noktalarda uyuşmazlıklar olduğunu fark edecektirler. Mesela "Kelebek" kitabının sonlarında artık intikamından tamamen vazgeçtiğinden bahsederken "Banko" kitabının henüz başında sanki hiç böyle bir şey olmamış gibi anlatıyor. Ayrıca ilk kitapta çok önemli ve yer kaplayan bölümlerden olan kızılderililerle yaşadığı dönemden ikinci kitapta hiç bahsedilmiyor.Halbuki Kızılderili eşine tekrar döneceğine dair söz vermişti ve bunun için uğraşmadı bile. Tabii ki insan anlatılanların doğru olduğuna inanmak istiyor. I have written this paragraph in turkish. my english is enough to read this news but isn't enough to write my comments :)

[Sedulia]

I used Google Translate to understand a bit of what you wrote! It gave me this (I changed the phrasing to make it more English but it doesn't completely translate it correctly):

"In fact, some of the points in dispute between the two books will be realized by those who read the books. For example, in "Papillon" vengeance is now completely surrendered at the end of the book; talking about the "Reception" at the beginning of the book, it says no such thing has happened. Also very important, in the first book in the sections covering the period of his second book there is no mention of the Indians. However, the Indians promised his wife would return to [him?] again and [he?] even did not bother to do this. Of course people want to believe that the accounts are true."

Let me know if this is what you mean?

Thanks for writing in!

[Avi]

Hello!
I am from India ( in Asia, not from the Indian guajira tribes Papi came across in the book). I recently read the book, and am quite enthralled by it. So much that, i started finding more information on Papillon, which is how i stumbled across this website. Whether Henri is not the real Papillon does not matter, what matters is the way the book has been written and the effect it has on you. Hats off to Papi!!

[will crow]

this book inspired me to become, as the author puts it:"a man equal to himself.(myself)." regardless of who did the actual deeds, i am impressed with the book, the man, the historical context, and most of all what i have gained from it.

[MIKLO]

The fact is even if this guy is lying its not hard to believe that this whole scenario is either true,or very close to the truth for someone somewhere in the world. It will always be a great story of man's endurance and capacity to withstand any amount of suffering. Never give up and you have a chance no matter how small it may seem!
MIKLO

[Pavan]

I am from India(Asia). It's one of the best inspirational books of our lifetime. Who cares it's fiction or biographical. Book makes you laugh think and mores than that gives you a positive energy. What more do you need from a book.

[Peter kawe]

As an Astrologer it is interesting to note that C Brunier was born in the sign of Gemini...

I had never read that H Charriere said the story was true to 75%. What he said it was all true apart from some minor memoryloss.

[Peter kawe]

Continuing...H Charriere had both Sun and Moon in Scorpio. That tells people who are in to Astrology that this man lives trough his feelings. He even speaks about this in Papillon or Banco. It took several years of persuation from Rita and other people before he even started writing about his escapes and adventures. One special event in Papillon (the book) is when he want to take care of the funeral himself of a dead friend in the sea. He puts heavy changes of metal around the body so that the sharks wont start eating the body at the surface.

But that did not work and the sharks got hold of the body and swam around with it. This is mentioned by C H and he says that his friend where waving goodbye with one of his arms carried around with the shark under the surface. Now, I am not experts on shark but I think they move like this when they are eating. It is likely that this has occured. If you can understand this then the rest of the book is not so hard to believe. Its a fantastic story yes. But why do people say he is lying. Maybe they have boring lives. No passion, no drama. H C was full of that , and of loving to be free..

Live a life in danger and imprisonment for 13 years and its bound to happen many things. This prisons at those times is not the same prisons as are present now. Hence the many escapes.

A question? Is it bragging when he admits jumping from 8 meters and breaking both feets. No! Its the search for escape, the will for being free.

In 2005 in comes this C Brunier and claims he is the real Papillon at age 104. Silly talk.

My wish is they made a new movie following the book better. This escape in the movie when they are running in the jungle and one prisoner is impaled in the gut is not in the book for example. A new movie would be a blockbuster. Then raise a statue in honour of Charriere in Aubenas.

[Alex Wasinowicz]

10 years after writing a post...I've decided to venture into French Guiana and the Salvation Islands... And although "Devil's Island" is out of bounds and entering onto the island is illegal... I'm sure I can pay someone at Kourou To take me there even for a few hours... Albeit if caught "hands cuffed!"
However, since reading Papillon in 1978 during my time in former British Guyana and during the infamous "Johnstown Massacre" my interest has propelled me into further investigations reading its sequel "Banco" and another book "Dry Guillotine" I've decided to embark on a further adventure into Trouble no doubt... But the rewards will be treasured! After my previous post 10 years ago my opinion remains Same... And with further evidence into what Henri Charriere had written and experienced... The fact of the matter is... He outlived a brutal and inhuman Ftench penal system that many thousands did not...! RIP Papillon!