"Il n'y a pas de cause perdue d'avance. Dans la vie il faut se battre jusqu'au bout. tu sais pourtant ce que cela représente. Tu vois, moi je vais au maximum ! et pourtant je vais me défendre toutes dents dehors. Car ma liberté il faudra me la prendre. Je ne la donnerai pas faute de combat ! "

Autograph letter dated and signed by Jacques Mesrine, dated Tuesday, October 12, 1976, 70 lines in blue ink on one recto-verso page addressed to his love of the time, Jeanne Schneider, thanks to whom the manuscript of Instinct de mort was discreetly smuggled out of prison.
Jacques Mesrine then incarcerated at La Santé shows great tenderness and reveals himself in another light, that of the affectionate and attentive lover: "Bonsoir petite fille... tu aimes bien jouer "au St Bernard", tu ne changeras jamais à ce sujet. C'est toi qui a 7 ans 1/2 de taule et tu dois remonter le moral des "gamines" qui ont joué du calibre !" ["Good evening little girl... you like to play 'the St Bernard', you'll never change about that. You're the one who has 7 and a half years of jail and you have to cheer up the 'girls' who played with guns!"]
He praises and is somewhat amazed by his companion's devotion to a couple of young criminals: "Tu me parles d'une sentence de 20 ans pour elle ! tu rigoles ou quoi... elle ne peut pas prendre plus de 8 ans je la vois plutôt avec 5 ou 6, si les choses s'arrangent. Son mari avec 20 ans au maximum." ["You talk to me about a 20-year sentence for her! are you kidding or what... she can't get more than 8 years I see her more with 5 or 6, if things work out. Her husband with 20 years maximum."] and tries to transmit all his optimism, his pugnacity and to cheer her up: "Tu sais, ma puce; quand tu m'écris que la cause de Michou, est une cause perdue d'avance je ne te comprends plus. Il n'y a pas de cause perdue d'avance. Dans la vie il faut se battre jusqu'au bout. tu sais pourtant ce que cela représente. Tu vois, moi je vais au maximum ! et pourtant je vais me défendre toutes dents dehors. Car ma liberté il faudra me la prendre. Je ne la donnerai pas faute de combat !" ["You know, my darling; when you write to me that Michou's cause is a lost cause from the start I don't understand you anymore. There is no lost cause from the start. In life you have to fight to the end. you know what that represents though. You see, I'm going for the maximum! and yet I'm going to defend myself tooth and nail. Because my freedom will have to be taken from me. I won't give it up for lack of fighting!"]
Jacques Mesrine also evokes his love of horse racing while boasting of being a betting specialist: "Oui j'avais joué "Dernier tango" mais seulement à la place. J'avais 2000frs dessus, je gagne donc 6000frs. Ce n'est pas de la chance, mais un savant calcul. Il m'arrive de perdre mais avec ma méthode, je suis obligé d'être gagnant... Forécement pour la suivre il faut un certain capital. J'ai mis plus d'un an à faire tous les calculs de probabilité. Cela doit me rapporter à peu près 7000frs par mois. Net d'impots (sic)..." ["Yes I had bet on 'Dernier tango' but only for place. I had 2000frs on it, so I win 6000frs. It's not luck, but a scientific calculation. I sometimes lose but with my method, I have to be a winner... Obviously to follow it you need a certain capital. I spent more than a year doing all the probability calculations. It should bring me about 7000frs per month. Net of taxes (sic)..."]
He ironizes about his situation as a prisoner having plenty of time to devise his financial gain strategies: "J'ai aussi mis au point une méthode pour le jeu de baccara. Que veux-tu... j'ai le temps de calculer un tac de choses (sic !) Tu me comprends ? ... L'administration aussi ! (resic). " ["I also developed a method for baccarat. What do you want... I have time to calculate a bunch of things (sic!) You understand me? ... The administration too! (resic)."] but deplores his impossibility to continue writing Instinct de mort: "... je suis actuellement incapable d'écrire une page de mon bouquin... je ne sais pas comment tourner ce passage-là... enfin je vais bien trouver la solution." ["... I am currently unable to write a page of my book... I don't know how to phrase this passage... well I'll find the solution."]
Jacques Mesrine ends this beautiful letter with a moving declaration of love full of hope and future and imbued with a certain innocence: "Nanou d'amour. Votre futur "z'époux" qui pour l'instant n'est que votre "vieil amant" pose ses lèvres sur les tiennes en une douce caresse amoureuse... Te quiero & EL VIEJO." ["Nanou of love. Your future 'husband' who for now is only your 'old lover' places his lips on yours in a gentle loving caress... Te quiero & EL VIEJO."]
Rare and very beautiful letter from public enemy No. 1 in which we discover him animated by great benevolence, tender love for his beloved and... horse racing.