Nathalie Ménigon
Encyclopedia
Nathalie Ménigon was born 28 February 1957 in Enghien-les-Bains
(Val-d'Oise
). She was convicted for acts of terrorism
committed while she was a member of the French revolutionary group Action directe. She was sentenced to life in prison in 1989 and freed in August of 2008 after serving more than 20 years in prison.
but remained charged with attempted murder of police officers. After she was released, she secretly re-joined with other members of Action direct.
and Georges Cipriani
, on the 18th of February 1987 on a farm in Vitry-aux-Loges
. She was convicted in 1989 for the 1986 assassination of Georges Besse
, then-President of Renault
, and of the 1985 assassinaton of René Audran
, a senior official at the French French Ministry of Defence. She was sentenced to life in prison..
She married Jean-Marc Rouillan on the 29th of June, 1999 at the Fleury-Mérogis Prison
.
, depression, problems balancing, and spasms. In May 2007
she was transferred to a house arrest program. The conditions allowed her to work during the days, but she had to spend her nights in prison. This parole was required in order for her to eventually be conditionally released from prison. Her conditional release was effective 2 August 2008..
While in prison she suffered from hemiplegia
, caused by two strokes
. She also engaged in self-harm in 2003, in protest of the jail conditions..
.
, started by Olivier Besancenot
and the Revolutionary Communist League
..
Enghien-les-Bains
Enghien-les-Bains is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the département of Val-d'Oise....
(Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
). She was convicted for acts of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
committed while she was a member of the French revolutionary group Action directe. She was sentenced to life in prison in 1989 and freed in August of 2008 after serving more than 20 years in prison.
Founding member of Action directe
Born into a working-class family, she founded Action directe in 1978 with Jean-Marc Rouillan. She was arrested in September 1980 after a gunfight with police. She was freed in 1981 by a Presidential Amnesty issued by François MitterrandFrançois Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
but remained charged with attempted murder of police officers. After she was released, she secretly re-joined with other members of Action direct.
Arrest and imprisonment
She was arrested, with her companions Jean-Marc Rouillan, Joëlle AubronJoëlle Aubron
Joëlle Aubron was a militant in the French group Action directe.-Early life and education:Joëlle Aubron was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine to a middle class family. She made two failed attempts to attain her baccalauréat. She began to alternate between temporary jobs and squatting in Paris, where she...
and Georges Cipriani
Georges Cipriani
Georges Cipriani is a former militant of the group Action directe.-Early Life, Work and Involvement with AD:He was born in Tunis to a working class family, and later immigrated to France. In the late 1960s, he worked as a milling machine operator in the machine tool workshop of the...
, on the 18th of February 1987 on a farm in Vitry-aux-Loges
Vitry-aux-Loges
Vitry-aux-Loges is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.-See also:*Communes of the Loiret department...
. She was convicted in 1989 for the 1986 assassination of Georges Besse
Georges Besse
Georges Besse was a French businessman who led several large state-controlled French companies during his lifetime. He was assassinated outside his home on November 17, 1986...
, then-President of Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, and of the 1985 assassinaton of René Audran
René Audran
René Audran was a senior official of the French Ministry of Defence. He was assassinated on 25 January 1985 by the armed group Action directe in front of his residence at La Celle-Saint-Cloud.- Background :...
, a senior official at the French French Ministry of Defence. She was sentenced to life in prison..
She married Jean-Marc Rouillan on the 29th of June, 1999 at the Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Fleury-Mérogis Prison
Fleury-Mérogis Prison is a prison in France, located in the town of Fleury-Mérogis, in the southern suburbs of Paris. With 3,800 prisoners, it is the largest prison in Europe ...
.
Release from prison
She was imprisoned in the Bapaume Prison, located in Pas-de-Calais, until August 2007. She was three times denied a suspended sentence for medical reasons, after suffering from hemiplegiaHemiplegia
Hemiplegia /he.mə.pliː.dʒiə/ is total paralysis of the arm, leg, and trunk on the same side of the body. Hemiplegia is more severe than hemiparesis, wherein one half of the body has less marked weakness....
, depression, problems balancing, and spasms. In May 2007
May 2007
May 2007 was the fifth month of that year. It began on a Tuesday and 30 days later, ended on a Thursday.-International holidays:* May 1 – May Day * May 1 – Labour Day * May 1 – Maharashtra State Day * May 1 – Labour Day...
she was transferred to a house arrest program. The conditions allowed her to work during the days, but she had to spend her nights in prison. This parole was required in order for her to eventually be conditionally released from prison. Her conditional release was effective 2 August 2008..
While in prison she suffered from hemiplegia
Hemiplegia
Hemiplegia /he.mə.pliː.dʒiə/ is total paralysis of the arm, leg, and trunk on the same side of the body. Hemiplegia is more severe than hemiparesis, wherein one half of the body has less marked weakness....
, caused by two strokes
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. She also engaged in self-harm in 2003, in protest of the jail conditions..
Communist Combatant Cells
Nathalie Ménigon had contacts with Pierre Carettee, the founder of the Belgian group Communist Combatant CellsCommunist Combatant Cells
Cellules Communistes Combattantes was a Belgian terrorist organization committed to a Communist ideology....
.
New Anticapitalist Party
In July 2008, she expressed interest in New Anticapitalist PartyNew Anticapitalist Party
The New Anticapitalist Party is a French political party founded in February 2009. Its name was originally intended to be temporary; a vote on the name being held at the founding congress on 6–8 February 2009, where NPA won over "Revolutionary Anticapitalist Party" with 53% of the vote.The party ...
, started by Olivier Besancenot
Olivier Besancenot
Olivier Besancenot is a French far left political figure and trade unionist, and the founding main spokesperson of the New Anticapitalist Party from 2009 to 2011....
and the Revolutionary Communist League
Revolutionary Communist League (France)
See Revolutionary Communist League for the other Ligue communiste révolutionnaire.The Revolutionary Communist League was a French democratic revolutionary socialist political party. It was the French section of the Fourth International...
..