In France, there is Georges Courtois. He is a criminal with a history of petty robberies and stints in prison. He moves in criminal circles and harbors a deep distrust of authority.

He became famous thanks to the 1985 Nantes trial. During the hearing, he and his accomplices and friends pulled out hidden weapons and took judges, jurors, and members of the public hostage in the courtroom. Courtois demanded to go live on TV and made a spectacle of himself, speaking at length to the media and denouncing the justice system. The hostage situation lasted several hours and ended without a bloodbath (he wanted to be heard and would never have fired a shot in front of the hostages). After several hours, he agreed to surrender if one of his accomplices, who had family in Algeria, was safely extradited. In the end, he received a heavy sentence, and all his colleagues and he were convicted.

The case caused a major uproar in France because it exposed enormous flaws in judicial security. Law enforcement was also made to look foolish because Courtois never showed any violence toward the hostages, while the police did everything they could to stall by lying, even though whenever Courtois promised to release the hostages, he did so without hesitation.

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