I would firstly like to thank everybody who has replied to, and contributed to this site -
it is still receiving a huge response from all over the world.

The original purpose of the site ( and still remains so, ) was to discover what happened to Charriere during the last 6 years of his life. However, it seems to have expanded into an information source, a locationpoint for researchers, and an area for general discussion and airing of views.


The last 12 months ( 2001 - 2002 ) have been very busy for the site. The number, and variety of leads has increased on the previous year, and we have had to redesign and expand the site to accommodate it. Last years updates have now been absorbed into the site.


We have now met three different sources who actually knew him, in Spain or Venezuela.
The last one, was an English property developer who remembers him from the late 1960's, in Benalmadena - then a small town between Torremolinos and Fuengirola. We understand he was renting a large house there, and was well known in the area. Aparently at that time, Charriere although already a celebrity, was one of many celebrities living there, and by no means the most important or well known.
( Thanks to Derek.)

We do know that following his stay in Benalmadena he bought a property close to Fuengirola, and in fact opened a bar on the sea front. The bar is no longer there, although a jewelery shop ( not connected ) does bear his name.


Information on the last 6 years of Charriere's life still remains very scarce. Not many new leads have been submitted, and the most interesting ones have requested that the information remains private. We can say that there are still friends and relatives of Charriere still alive, and that the man was in real life, as he portrayed himself in the books.


We have now seen "Popsy Pop", otherwise known as the elusive "Butterfly Affair". Charriere played a leading role in the movie, as the "bad guy" attempting to steal the diamonds, and Stanley Baker as the relentless "cop". Charrieres' role in the film was probably quite similar to his real life character, and during some fight scenes, you could see he didn't have to act to much.
In general, the film was almost good, but unfortunately wasn't, and Charriere lost about $ 300,000 on it.
The film is still worth seeing and is very typical of the era, and if nothing else allows you to see Charriere and his mannerisms, and ofcourse hear his voice too. The film was in English.


One excellent find this year was a copy of the contract Charriere signed to initiate the "Papillon" film with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. ( View the Images Files. Thanks to Pierpaulo.)


With regard to his wife and daughter, unfortunately we still have not had any firm information,
but we currently believe his daughter is still alive and living in the U.S.
Various "rumours" have been around this year regarding Charrieres' "lost children". We have no evidence to support this, but many people believe that he fathered at least one child whilst living with the Goajira Indians, and that the name Charriere still appears in Venezuelan telephone directories.


An interesting piece of research has turned up surrounding a link between Devils' Island and the Tour de France. Read more about this in the " Tour de France " section.


On one of the walls in a cell on the Isles de Salut, the word "PAPILLON" is scratched into it, could Charriere have done this ?

It would also appear that there is now some doubt over the "seventh" wave ever existing.
There will be more on this subject later.


An article in the British " Daily Telegraph ", from 1932, describes an event in which Charrieres' first wife Georgette attempts to shoot him during a visit to his cell, whilst he was awaiting transportation to the penal colony. After being restrained by the guards, she declared Charriere was an innocent man, and that it was in fact she who had committed the murder.
Thanks to Bob.


One of the hottest topics for debate on the site is still whether Charriere's stories were true or false.
Our purpose here is not to prove or disprove, but impartially seek the truth. Years and years of detailed study and research by numerous researchers has still not lead to a clear conclusion. We are aware of a researcher in Guyana who has been trawling through old documents and government papers for 20 years, and still has no clear result. An added problem to this, is that during the period of Charrieres' captivity, it is known that French record keeping was notoriously poor.

The hottest topic of debate remains as to whether the whole story was true or not.
Concensus of informed opinion has slightly shifted over the last year, to a more negative view point. It would appear that more than one or two events he described ( which did actually happen ), may not have happened to him.

This opinion is reported, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the website or its owners.