Fanny Madignier

Fanny Madignier, born Marie Françoise Monnin on 29 February 1852 in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon and died on an unknown date, was a French canut/weaver and anarchist. She is primarily known for having likely committed the Assommoir bombing, the first lethal anarchist attack in France.

Born into a family of canuts, Madignier began working as a weaver before joining the anarchist movement in France alongside her sister, Virginie. She became a prominent figure in the Lyonnese Revolutionary Federation in the early 1880s, participating in numerous conferences and meetings with her women's group, the Louise Michel-Marie Ferré group.

As the repression on anarchists intensified and the strategy of propaganda by the deed began to be adopted by them, she vocally supported the actions of the Black Band carried out in Montceau-les-Mines. In October 1882, during the trial of the members of the Black Band, she likely participated in the Assommoir bombing in Lyon, targeting a restaurant associated with the Lyonnese bourgeoisie. A dozen people were injured by the explosions and one ultimately died. The anarchist disappeared a few days later, probably after fleeing to Switzerland.

Madignier was found guilty of the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment in a penal colony in absentia two years later; she was never found by the French authorities.

Biography

Marie Françoise Monnin was born on 29 February 1852 in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon. The daughter of Julie Bouton and Claude Monnin, a canut, she also had a sister, Virginie, who later married the anarchist Claude Bernard. Her mother remarried, taking the name Madignier in her second marriage. —and the same day as the sentencing of companions Claude Crestin and Auguste Bonthoux for some of their writings, she attended a meeting held by the Federation. The group, which according to police reports consisted of two men and one woman, remained in the building for a time before leaving their booth and the premises. 200 people were still inside when three explosions happened in the building.

The attack injured about ten people, four of them seriously. Unlike the attacks by the Black Band or the bombing of the Thiers statue, this attack was lethal: one of the seriously injured victims died four days later.

Meanwhile, Madignier—who was becoming a suspect in the attack as she matched the description of the primary suspect and was summoned to appear before the investigating judge—disappeared, likely fleeing to Switzerland. She reportedly wrote from there five days later, in early November 1882, to request financial aid from her Lyon companions, who allegedly sent her 10 francs.

This remains the last known record of her life. Two years later, in December 1884, Madignier was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in a penal colony for the bombing.

Primary sources

Trial and police files Collection of the site-archive Archives Anarchistes uploaded to Commons comprising:

2 U 464 in the Rhône Archives (43 pages about her and the Assommoir bombing)