Madame Claude
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fernande Grudet (born in 1923), also known as Madame Claude, is the most famous French procurer. In the 1960s she was the head of a French network of call girls who worked especially for dignitaries and civil servants.
Born on July 6 1923 in Angers, France, Fernande Grudet was reared by nuns. After acting as an agent of the Resistance during the German Occupation of France during WWII and doing several other jobs, she created her VIP prostitution network in Paris during the 1960s.
Her clientelle included not only political figures, but also members of the Mafia, as well as police administrators who ensured her protection. One of her friends was the gangster, Pierrot le fou.
In 1976, the judge Bruguiere began dismantling Grudet's organization. She soon exiled herself in the United States to escape the French Tax administration.
During the 1980s she returned to France, convinced that she was protected by new tax laws, and set up a new prostitution organization. The French Treasury prosecuted her in 1986, however. In 1992 she was sentenced to a term in Fleury-Mérogis prison for procuring.
The history of Madame Claude has inspired many writers. Her life was the basis of the 1977 feature film, "Madame Claude," directed by by Just Jaeckin, and starring Françoise Fabian.
[edit] Bibliography
- Madam, by Claude Grudet, ED: Michel Lafon (1994): history of Madame Claude by Madame Claude.
- Les filles de Madame Claude, by Elizabeth Antébi and Anne Florentin, Stock-Julliard (1974).
