Florence Rey

Case record: Florence Rey

Background

Florence Rey was born August 25, 1975. She was 19 years old at the time of the incident and was a student studying philosophy at the Science-Po.

Audry Maupin was born 4 October 1972. He was 22 years old at the time of the incident and was a drop-out from the faculty of medicine at Nanterre.

At the time of the incident, Florence Rey and Audry Maupin lived together in a squat in an abandoned bourgeoise house in Nanterre.

The pair were already under observation by the Renseignements Généraux, the French secret police, prior to the incident due to their involvement with an underground political group.

When the police searched their squat after the killings, they found revolutionary and anarchist literature, including The Society Of The Spectacle by Guy Debord. They also found the couple’s writings, which echoed surrealism, radicalism and situationism.

The offence

The incident began at 9.25pm on 4 October 1994, at the Porte de Pantin car pound.

Florence Rey and Audry Maupin climbed the perimeter fence with the intention of stealing the service firearms of two policemen on night duty inside, and neutralizing them with their own handcuffs.

They discovered that the two officers did not carry handcuffs, so they sprayed them with tear gas before making their escape.

Outside, they boarded a taxi waiting at a red light. The taxi was driven by an African chauffeur from Guinée named Amadou Dialoo. A passenger, Georges Monnier, was already on board.

Rey and Maupin threatened the driver and ordered him to drive to the place de la République.

Ten minutes after hijacking the taxi, on arriving at the place de la République, Dialoo noticed a police patrol car with three officers returning to their base in the 11th arrondissement after finishing their duty.

Dialoo panicked and rammed the patrol car at full speed, badly injuring one of the officers, Regis D.

The two other officers jumped out, and Rey and Maupin opened fire, killing Laurent Gerard and Thierry Memard.

During the gunfight, Maupin shot Dialoo. Monnier had escaped from the taxi and was lying on the ground.

The couple then hijacked a Renault super cinq driven by Jacky Bensimon and ordered him to drive to the Bois de Vincennes.

A chase began, and Maupin fired through the rear window of the Renault, killing a motorcycle patrolman, Guy Jacob.

On arrival at Vincennes, there was a road block, so Maupin ordered Bensimon not to stop or he would kill him.

100 metres before the road block, Bensimon pulled the hand brake, which caused the car to spin three times. Bensimon was thrown out, which probably saved his life.

The police opened fire on the Renault, fatally wounding Maupin. Maupin died at 10pm the following evening at the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital.

The incident caused the deaths of five people: three policemen, a taxi driver, and Maupin.

Investigation

After the killings, the police searched the squat where Rey and Maupin had been living and found revolutionary and anarchist literature and writings that echoed surrealism, radicalism and situationism.

Arrest and interrogation

Before being arrested, Florence Rey kissed Maupin without showing any emotion.

During her interrogation, she refused to discuss the incident throughout.

Trial

Florence Rey was held in preventive detention at the Maison d'Arrêt des Femmes at Fleury Merogis while waiting trial.

While held, she read and took part in amateur theatricals.

She never discussed the incident with anyone, including her lawyers.

Her trial began on 17 September 1998, at the assise court in the Palais de Justice, Paris.

She was defended by two lawyers: Maître Olivia Cligman and Maître Henri Leclerc.

Throughout her trial, she continued to show no emotion. Maître Cligman rebuked her in court for her indifference.

Ten witnesses were called, and they all gave different versions of the event.

The question of whether she was a murderer or an accomplice rested on ballistic evidence proving that Maupin fired all of the fatal shots.

Sentencing

On 30 September 1998, the advocate general asked the court to sentence Florence to 30 years.

After her lawyers delivered their plea, she was given the final opportunity to speak but chose to remain silent.

After five hours of deliberation, the jury found her guilty as an accomplice.

She was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Florence Rey served her sentence in the Maison d'Arrêt des Femmes in Rennes.

After benefiting from a remission of sentence, Florence Rey was discreetly liberated on 3 May 2009.

Aftermath

During her incarceration, she received frequent visits from her mother. She studied history and geography. She also worked as a waitress in the prison refectory.

She became somewhat of a heroine among disaffected Parisian youth. Patrick Besson wrote Sonnet pour Florence Rey. The band The Kills wrote a song dedicated to her.

The anarchist rock group Chumbawamba dedicated their song "Stitch That" to Florence Rey at live performances shortly after the incident.

Unlike other notorious criminals who had earned money with their memoirs, she still remained silent and refused interviews.

Timeline

• 4 October 1994 — The incident began at 9.25pm at the Porte de Pantin car pound; hijacking and subsequent shoot-out occurred, killing Regis D.’s fellow officers Laurent Gerard and Thierry Memard, and later leading to the chase toward Bois de Vincennes; Maupin was fatally wounded and later died at 10pm the following evening at the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital.
• 17 September 1998 — Florence Rey’s trial began at the assise court in the Palais de Justice, Paris.
• 30 September 1998 — The advocate general asked the court to sentence Florence to 30 years; the jury found her guilty as an accomplice and sentenced her to 20 years imprisonment.
• 3 May 2009 — Florence Rey was released after benefiting from a remission of sentence.

Other details

The incident involved a high-speed car chase alongside her boyfriend Audry Maupin.

Rey kissed Maupin before being arrested and refused to discuss the incident during her interrogation.