Mesrine: The criminal element

Spent much of the weekend watching (at long last...) the two Mesrine films, L'instinct de mort and L'ennemie public No 1.

Strange, but former public enemy number one did not feature highly in the syllabus of any of the French courses I've attended over the years, but he was a big cult figure.

Every society has their heroic villains, whether the Kray twins, Ronnie Biggs or in Scotland Jimmy Boyle. There are many issues wrapped up in this area, crime and the law, the state and the individual and the concept of freedom versus containment.

Of course, there is the question of whether or not Mesrine was genuniely politically motivated, or an opportunist who attached a political label to his acts after the fact to win favour as an outlaw, as well as the issue of whether his involvement in the Algerian War was the cause of his behaviour, and the controversy of his death - essentially by firing squad on the streets of Paris.

Much to discuss and dissect, but needless to say the voice of Mesrine found a place in the French music world, in songs by Trust, one of France's finest rock bands.

The lyrics of Le Mitard are from Mesrine. The voice at the beginning and end are Mesrine.