On May 26, 1986, Paris became the stage for one of France’s most audacious prison escapes. Nadine Vaujour, a 34‑year‑old woman, had spent months secretly training under the alias Lena Rigon to earn her private pilot’s license. Her mission was not professional ambition but a daring plan to free her husband, Michel Vaujour, who was serving a 28‑year sentence at La Santé Prison for armed robbery and attempted murder.
That morning, Nadine rented a civilian helicopter and flew it across the city. At 10:45 a.m., she hovered over the prison roof and dropped a rope ladder. Guards were caught off guard as Michel climbed aboard, leaving behind another inmate who had hoped to join. Within minutes, Nadine steered the helicopter to a nearby soccer field in southern Paris, where the couple abandoned the aircraft and escaped in a waiting car.
Michel’s breakout was not his first, he had attempted escapes since the 1970s, including a notorious 1979 courtroom stunt with a fake soap gun. But this 1986 escape, engineered by Nadine’s determination and skill, became legendary. It was remembered not only as a feat of criminal ingenuity but also as a testament to loyalty and love, cementing the Vaujours’ story in French criminal folklore.
The couple’s hideout was right back in Paris. Bold or foolish, they stayed in the city where they had just staged a daring escape. Three months later, they were caught not opening a charming coffee shop but robbing a bank—again. In the shootout that followed, Michel took a bullet to the head but survived.
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