Émile "Mimile" Buisson (19 August 1902 – 28 February 1956) was a French

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

, and French

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No. 1 for 1950. A member of the French '' Gang des Tractions 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, and was executed in 1956 by the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

. Borniche's memoirs on the pursuit, '' Flic Story'', were later made into a film of the same name in 1975, with Buisson portrayed by

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-World War II, war era. He starred in m ...

. Buisson was born in

Paray-le-Monial Paray-le-Monial is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004, Paray-le-Monial has been part of the Charolais-Brionnais region. Its inhabitants are called Parodiens and P ...

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...

, and was jailed at the age of 16 for

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...

ing, swindling and possessing an offensive weapon. He was exiled to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

with his brother for 5 years. Upon returning to France, Buisson was involved in a number of crimes and murders, becoming a member of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

' criminal organizations, and took part in a hold-up of

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

in 1937. In 1941 Buisson killed a passenger on board a security van during a robbery, and was captured by police during an identity check. Buisson was regarded as criminally insane and was committed to a psychiatric hospital, only to escape in 1947 with the help of Roger Dekker. Becoming French

No. 1 for 1950, Buisson was eventually captured by Roger Borniche and was executed by

in 1956, being buried at Ivry Cemetery.

References

1902 births 1956 deaths Executed gangsters French bank robbers People executed by the French Fourth Republic by guillotine People from Paray-le-Monial Burials at Ivry Cemetery {{crime-bio-stub French people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by France People executed for murder