Chauffeurs de la Drôme

The four men were Octave-Louis David (b.1873), Pierre-Augustin-Louis Berruyer (b.1873), both shoemakers; Urban-Célestin Liottard (b.1863), a labourer, and Jean Lamarque.

[1] The gang typically carried out home invasions on remote, rural dwellings, where they tortured householders into revealing the locations of hidden valuables by burning their feet.

Armand Fallières, the President of France at the time, was personally opposed to the death penalty, but the strength of public opinion made it impossible for him to accept their pleas for clemency.

The executions by guillotine of David, Berruyer and Liottard took place at Valence, Drôme, on 22 September 1909[4] at 6 am, within the space of a few minutes and before a cheering crowd.

A number of photographs were taken despite this being against the law; postcards were widely sold, and there were newspaper advertisements for public showings of motion pictures of the executions.