The King of Nazi Paris: Henri Lafont and the Gangsters of the French Gestapo

By Christopher Othen

By 1943, Henri Lafont was the most powerful Frenchman in occupied Paris. Once a petty criminal running from the French police, when he found himself recruited by the Nazis his life changed for ever.

Lafont established a motley band of sadistic oddballs that became known as the French Gestapo and included ex-footballers, faded aristocrats, pimps, murderers and thieves. The gang wore the finest clothes, ate at the best restaurants and threw parties for the rich and famous out of their headquarters on the exclusive rue Lauriston.

In this vivid portrait, Christopher Othen explores how Lafont and his criminal clan rampaged across Paris through the Second World War – until the Allies liberated France, and a terrible price had to be paid.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Biteback Publishing
• Release date: Jul 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781785905926

Christopher Othen

Christopher Othen is an English writer currently based in Eastern Europe, uncomfortably close to the Russian army. His day jobs have included journalist and legal representative for asylum seekers. In off-the-clock adventures he has interviewed retired mercenaries about war crimes, discussed lost causes with political extremists, and got drunk with an ex-mujahid who knew Osama Bin Laden. He has been interviewed by Michael Portillo for Times Radio, and appeared on multiple history and military podcasts and programmes.