Roger Borniche
Encyclopedia
Roger Borniche was a French
detective
of the Sûreté nationale
and author
of a number of works. He started as a Singer, but his fledgling musical career was interrupted by the German invasion of 1940. To make a living, he took a job as a store detective. In 1943, He joined the Sûreté nationale
as Inspector to avoid being shipped to a forced labor detail. Assigned to hunt the Resistance, he instead helped partisans escape from occupied France. He deserted in 1944, only days before the D-Day invasion. Upon the liberation of France in August, he was reinstated to the Sûreté nationale
and assigned to enforce France's abortion laws. The next year, he was transferred to a homicide unit. In 1947, he was making 11,000 Francs a month and 2,000 Francs in expenses. It was a resonable wage for a single man, but insufficient for a family. He was single, but he did support a mistress. On September 4, 1947, He was assigned to capture the escaped murderer, Emile Buisson
. Borniche kept critical investigative files in his office, forcing the other investigators to bargain with him for their contents; other investigators did the same. He also competed with the other agencies for informants, who tried to play the investigators against each other for more rewards. He was sometimes shadowed by other investigators and would have to lose his "tail" to meet with an informant. Borniche's investigations depended on informants and on French records that required anyone staying at a hotel or renting a room to give his name and identity card number. Those records were forwarded to the Police. Bornicher never admitted to striking his prisoners, but his writing shows he was not surprised to find a prisoner already badly beaten when Borniche asked to interview him. He was able to bargain with informants by offering them a signed permit to remain in Paris (despite being banned from the city by other police forces) and by delaying distribution of official warrants by keeping the notices locked in his desk. Borniche caught his target by forcing a informant to lead Buisson into a trap. Borniche and the Sûreté captured Buisson eating lunch at a Restaurant on June 10, 1950. Borniche was rewarded with a Promotion to Chief inspector and a 30,000 Franc bonus. He retired in 1956 and formed his own Detective agency in Paris. His first set of memoirs, Flic Story
, became the basis of a 1975 film featuring Alain Delon
as Borniche, and portraying Borniche's real-life pursuit of French gangster Emile Buisson
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
detective
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
of the Sûreté nationale
Sûreté Nationale
Sûreté Nationale is the name of the civil police in certain Francophone countries:* National Police * Sûreté Nationale * Sûreté Nationale * Sûreté Nationale...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of a number of works. He started as a Singer, but his fledgling musical career was interrupted by the German invasion of 1940. To make a living, he took a job as a store detective. In 1943, He joined the Sûreté nationale
Sûreté Nationale
Sûreté Nationale is the name of the civil police in certain Francophone countries:* National Police * Sûreté Nationale * Sûreté Nationale * Sûreté Nationale...
as Inspector to avoid being shipped to a forced labor detail. Assigned to hunt the Resistance, he instead helped partisans escape from occupied France. He deserted in 1944, only days before the D-Day invasion. Upon the liberation of France in August, he was reinstated to the Sûreté nationale
Sûreté Nationale
Sûreté Nationale is the name of the civil police in certain Francophone countries:* National Police * Sûreté Nationale * Sûreté Nationale * Sûreté Nationale...
and assigned to enforce France's abortion laws. The next year, he was transferred to a homicide unit. In 1947, he was making 11,000 Francs a month and 2,000 Francs in expenses. It was a resonable wage for a single man, but insufficient for a family. He was single, but he did support a mistress. On September 4, 1947, He was assigned to capture the escaped murderer, Emile Buisson
Émile Buisson
Émile "Mimile" Buisson was a French gangster, and French public enemy No. 1 for 1950. A member of the French Gang des Traction Avant, Buisson was responsible for over thirty murders and a hundred robberies. Buisson was pursued and caught by French detective of the Sûreté Nationale Roger Borniche,...
. Borniche kept critical investigative files in his office, forcing the other investigators to bargain with him for their contents; other investigators did the same. He also competed with the other agencies for informants, who tried to play the investigators against each other for more rewards. He was sometimes shadowed by other investigators and would have to lose his "tail" to meet with an informant. Borniche's investigations depended on informants and on French records that required anyone staying at a hotel or renting a room to give his name and identity card number. Those records were forwarded to the Police. Bornicher never admitted to striking his prisoners, but his writing shows he was not surprised to find a prisoner already badly beaten when Borniche asked to interview him. He was able to bargain with informants by offering them a signed permit to remain in Paris (despite being banned from the city by other police forces) and by delaying distribution of official warrants by keeping the notices locked in his desk. Borniche caught his target by forcing a informant to lead Buisson into a trap. Borniche and the Sûreté captured Buisson eating lunch at a Restaurant on June 10, 1950. Borniche was rewarded with a Promotion to Chief inspector and a 30,000 Franc bonus. He retired in 1956 and formed his own Detective agency in Paris. His first set of memoirs, Flic Story
Flic Story
Flic Story is a French crime thriller released on October 1, 1975, based on the autobiography of the same name written by French police detective Roger Borniche. Both film and book portray Borniche's nine year pursuit of French gangster and murderer Emile Buisson, who was executed on February 28,...
, became the basis of a 1975 film featuring Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
as Borniche, and portraying Borniche's real-life pursuit of French gangster Emile Buisson
Émile Buisson
Émile "Mimile" Buisson was a French gangster, and French public enemy No. 1 for 1950. A member of the French Gang des Traction Avant, Buisson was responsible for over thirty murders and a hundred robberies. Buisson was pursued and caught by French detective of the Sûreté Nationale Roger Borniche,...
.
Works
- 1975 : Flic Story
- 1975 : Le Gang
- 1976 : Le Play-boy
- 1977 : L'Indic
- 1977 : René la Canne
- 1978 : L'Archange
- 1980 : Le Gringo
- 1981 : Le Maltais
- 1981 : Le Ricain
- 1982 : Le Tigre
- 1983 : Le Boss
- 1985 : Vol d'un nid de bijoux
- 1986 : L'Affaire de la môme Moineau
- 1987 : Le Coréen
- 1989 : La cible
- 1990 : Kidnapping
- 1991 : Frenchie : Un Français au cœur de la filière californienne
- 1996 : Le privé
- 1998 : Homicide boulevard : Los Angeles
- 1999 : Dossiers très privés (nouvelles)