Carlingue

The Carlingue (or French Gestapo) were French auxiliaries who worked for the Gestapo, Sicherheitsdienst and Geheime Feldpolizei during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. The group, which was based at 93 rue Lauriston in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, was active between 1941 and 1944. It was initiated by Pierre Bonny (1895–1944), a corrupt ex-policeman. Later it was managed jointly by Henri Lafont and Pierre Loutrel, two professional criminals who had been active in the French underworld before the war. Carlingue kaʁ.lɛ̃ɡ in French means the cabin (or central body of an aircraft). The unit used this as a euphemistic nickname to indicate it was an organisation with structure and strength. The group was also known externally as the Bonny-Lafont gang, after Pierre Bonny and Henri Lafont. The Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) officially referred to the Carlingue as Active Group Hesse after the SS officer "who'd looked after its foundation". It was also known as the Gestapo française or the Bande de la Rue Lauriston. The unit was formed in 1941 by the RSHA. Its purpose was to perform counterinsurgency operations against the maquis resistance forces in German occupied France and Vichy France. The Carlingue recruited its members from the same criminal milieu as that of its founders. Both Henri Lafont and Pierre Loutrel (alias Pierrot le fou, "Crazy Pete") were gangsters in the Parisian underworld before the war. Another member, the former police officer Pierre Bonny, had been wanted by the French authorities for misappropriation of funds and selling influence in the Seznec and Stavisky affairs. Many others of the Carlingue were from the disbanded North African Brigades. The partly criminal nature of the organisation gave it access to contacts such as informers, corrupt officials, and disreputable businesspeople such as Joseph Joanovici. Members were also active in the black market. According to retired policeman Henri Longuechaud, "one might be scandalised by the numbers of 30,000 to 32,000 sometimes quoted [as members of the Carlingue].