Fanny Madignier

Fanny Madignier, born Marie Françoise Monnin on 29 February 1852 in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon and died on an unknown date, was a French canut/weaver and anarchist. She is primarily known for having likely committed the Assommoir bombing, the first lethal anarchist attack in France.

Born into a family of canuts, Madignier began working as a weaver before joining the anarchist movement in France alongside her sister, Virginie. She became a prominent figure in the Lyonnese Revolutionary Federation in the early 1880s, participating in numerous conferences and meetings with her women's group, the Louise Michel-Marie Ferré group.

As the repression on anarchists intensified and the strategy of propaganda by the deed began to be adopted by them, she vocally supported the actions of the Black Band carried out in Montceau-les-Mines. In October 1882, during the trial of the members of the Black Band, she likely participated in the Assommoir bombing in Lyon, targetting a restaurant associated with the Lyonnese bourgeoisie. A dozen people were injured by the explosions and one ultimately died. The anarchist disappeared a few days later, probably after fleeing to Switzerland.

Madignier was found guilty of the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment in a penal colony in absentia two years later; she was never found by the French authorities.