Le Clerch was born on 5 February 1891, in the town of
Le Faouët, in the
Morbihan department of
Brittany. She was the eldest child of the day labourers Françoise Bérréat and Jean Louis Le Clerch, the latter of whom died while she was still young. She was raised by her mother in
poverty and never received a
literary education. At only 10 years old, she was forced to find a job as a
domestic worker. Le Clerch was one of over 12,000
Bretons who migrated to the French capital of
Paris for work. There she met and fell in love with the
illegalist anarchist , with whom she lived in
Romainville. Le Clerch lived in Romainville from December 1910 to April 1911. During this time, she worked as a domestic servant in
Les Pavillons-sous-Bois and provided information about the property she worked in to Metge, who later burgled the residence. They briefly moved to
Suresnes, before moving on to
Garches. There they stayed in a bungalow known as "Holly Oak", where they provided a hiding place for while he was being trailed by a journalist. Over the subsequent year, they carried out a series of burglaries in order to sustain themselves. On 2 January 1912, Metge and Carouy carried out a robbery of a wealthy landlord's house in
Thiais. They got away with roughly 10,000
francs, while Metge also took an umbrella and earrings to give to Le Clerch as gifts. Following the robbery, on 10 January, police launched a raid on the house of
Louis Rimbault, where Le Clerch and Metge had stayed. By this time, Le Clerch, Metge and Carouy had already fled their house in Garches, fearing that they were being watched. On 14 January, police arrested Metge, but Le Clerch managed to escape capture. Police found Metge's palm print at a house on and found jewelry which had been stolen from the house at Le Clerch's residence. On 6-7 May 1912, police arrested Le Clerch and her new companion, another illegalist anarchist named
Edouard Forget, on . Le Clerch was caught in possession of over 900 francs, as well as items stolen from Les Pavillons-sous-Bois. Le Clerch was incarcerated in
Saint-Lazare Prison, together with two other women of the
Bonnot Gang:
Marie Vuillemin and
Rirette Maîtrejean, the latter of whom taught Le Clerch how to read. Le Clerch's physical health deteriorated in prison, as she had contracted
tuberculosis. On 15 August 1912, she was granted
compassionate release on medical grounds. She was given a place to stay at the offices of ''
L'Anarchie'', ran by
Émile Armand. She later moved to , where on 9 November, she was again arrested together with her new companion
Indalecio Ibañez, charged with having attacked a post office in
Bezons. of Le Clerch during her trial in February 1913 Le Clerch was accused of
complicity in
theft and her trial began on 3 February 1913. Together with Vuillemin and Maîtrejean, the prosecution defined her by her gender rather than her alleged role in any criminal activity. Metge himself confessed to participating in the burglary in Les Pavillons-sous-Bois, and admitted to having given Le Clerch some earrings and 1,300 francs which he claimed to have been given by "a friend", who he refused to name. At 05:00 on 25 February, Le Clerch, Maîtrejean, Vuillemin, and were summoned to the court room. The jury found them not guilty on all charges. Having escaped conviction, Le Clerch returned to her life in Paris, where she lived under a
pseudonym. On 28 March 1914, she testified in the case against Indalecio Ibañez, but her defense of her companion was unsuccessful and he was given a
life sentence of
penal labour. Few records exist of Le Clerch after 1914. According to her
grandnieces, she went on to have two children and worked at a
cooperative.
Victor Serge wrote that she died shortly after her trial, but her family mention her having been visited by her younger sister around 1920; her own family do not know the details of her death. ==Notes==