the confessions of Martine Cabanes, ex-robber turned grocer

In the 1970s, at 19, Martine Cabanes dreamed of elsewhere. Born in Berry, she went to Paris and became a waitress in a brasserie. There she meets Jean-Charles Willoquet, with whom she lives a life of luxury. “I didn’t ask myself any questions until one day, when I slipped my hand under the pillow, I discovered a weapon. He said to me: ‘Now that you know who I am. Either you continue with me, or you leave‘”, she says.

Martine Cabanes will fall into delinquency. The couple robbed jewelry stores, stores and banks, before being arrested and marrying behind bars. After her release, Martine Cabanes managed to get her husband to escape. Their run lasts three months.

While they are trying to get Jacques Mesrine to escape, the police intervene. Martine Cabanes, pregnant, gave birth in prison, but was not released until three years later. His child means the end of his criminal journey. Martine Cabanes has since run the grocery store in her village. “I also wrote to apologize for the harm I may have done to my family, and to all those people who were robbed.”, she confides. Her former husband was shot dead by police in 1990.