David Desclos, actor, artist, author-producer and also… former bandit, is the author of the play “Écroué de rire”, co-written and directed with rapper and actor Stomy Bugsy. In this “Pause”, he recounts his past as an ex-caid, his time in prison and his awareness through humor and spectacle, which he uses today to convey messages “as subtly as possible” in order to sensitize young people not to stray from the right path.
Everything seemed predestined David Desclos for a bandit’s life. “It does not justify anything but the family environment, poverty, a father who has been imprisoned several times… the character too, the friends, the entourage… A good mayonnaise was being made”, he says. This actor retraces his career, from “his first shoplifting when I was 7 or 8 years old” bank robberies. “I soon discovered that I was good at it. What little nerve, intelligence and talent I had, I put into theft”. The young David Desclos thus gradually rose in rank: “After the theft, I learned to neutralize the alarm systems, to rob luxury boutiques (…) before attacking the banks. We robbed without weapons or violence à la Arsène Lupin or Albert Spaggiari (…) On Christmas Eve 1998, I dug a tunnel to the headquarters of Société Générale in Caen, in Calvados. I got screwed. The policeman in the car told me ‘all you have to do is do like Albert Spaggiari, he took four months to escape’. I took five minutes to escape”remembers the actor.
Health and freedom, “the two basic pillars”
The trigger, he had it during his cabal with his wife. “Love, maturity, intelligence must have helped me (…) During my cabal in Switzerland, I watched the people who worked to protect their children and their families. I discovered what it meant, to put his nerve, his intelligence and his talent in honesty”, he said. David Desclos realizes that “the two basic pillars for a successful life are health and freedom. Do nothing that harms either”.
In prison, he exploits his passion for humor and entertainment. “On the walk, everyone asked me to tell about my escape. I thought it a shame not to tell the young prisoners what it took me 20 years to understand and, without lecturing them, pushing them to put their nerve, their intelligence and their talent into honesty”. This is when this artist decided to make humor his spearhead to convey messages “as subtly as possible” et “saving inmates time”. Upon his release, he co-wrote his play “Écroué de rire”, which recounts his life as a bandit, with humor and derision and “lots of posts”. “It was a wonderful thing. The first to buy the show are the Ministries of Justice, of Education… We play in prisons, the PJJ (Judicial Protection of Youth, editor’s note)… I am convinced of what I am saying , because it is lived. I have my past”.