Ravachol

François Claudius Ravachol (French: [ʁavaʃɔl]; born Koenigstein; 14 October 1859 – 11 July 1892) was a French illegalist anarchist mainly known for his terrorist activism, impact, the myths developed around his figure and his influence on the anarchist movement in France.

Born in 1859 in Saint-Chamond, in the Saint-Étienne area, Ravachol grew up in poverty and domestic violence. Later, he began a life of crime marked by the murder and robbery of a rich hermit. In this city, Ravachol gradually adopted anarchist ideas and met other activists, such as Rosalie Soubère and Joseph Jas-Béala. He managed to escape from arrest and with these two accomplices, the militant moved to Paris in 1891. There, joined by the young anarchist militant Charles Simon, they carried out the Saint-Germain and Clichy bombings (1892), targeting the judge and prosecutor responsible for the judicial persecution of anarchists arrested during the Clichy Affair (1891).

Quickly arrested after the second attack, he stood trial, took full responsibility for the bombings in an effort to protect his companions, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with mitigating circumstances granted by the jury. Later, he was tried for the hermit’s murder and condemned to death, ultimately being guillotined on 11 July 1892, at Montbrison.

Although he was swiftly captured, arrested, and executed shortly after his attacks, which caused no fatalities, Ravachol is widely regarded as one of the launchers of the Ère des attentats (1892–1894). His assumption of full responsibility, efforts to exonerate his companions, and transformation from criminal to 'people’s avenger' in a sense, made him a martyr for anarchists and created the myth of Ravachol within the French population. He also became the cultural archetype of the 'anarchist terrorist'. Ravachol's actions also marked a turning point in the evolution of terrorism; he was one of the first terrorists to move away from a symbolism centered on individuals and toward one centered on locations, targeting a place as much as a person in his case. This aspect has become important in modern terrorism but was little understood by the contemporary press, which failed to grasp the motivations behind his actions.