The official members of the Friends of the ABC. From left to right: Laigle, Bahorel, Enjolras, Feuilly, Grantaire, Joly, Prouvaire, Combeferre, Courfeyac
The Friends of the ABC (French: Les Amis de l'ABC) was an association of revolutionary French republican students and Federalists who were anti-King Louis-Philippe. They were beloved by the street urchin Gavroche, who also symbolizes their revolutionary intensity.
Except for Marius and Gavroche, all members of the society are killed during the rebellion. While a majority of the members were killed while defending the barricade, Enjolras and Grantaire are discovered during the final attack by the National Guardsmen while in the Corinthe, and immediately executed. Marius, though wounded at the barricade, is saved and carried away from the scene by Jean Valjean, who arrived at the barricade to protect him for Cosette's happiness.
The name of the association is a French pun on the word abaissé, meaning "oppressed".
Background/Role in the Story []
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Members[]
Enjolras[]
Enjolras (1806 - June 6, 1832) was the charismatic leader of the Friends of the ABC.
He devoutly believed in democratic freedom, which lead him into an argument with Bonapartist Marius upon their first meeting. He declares the "motherland" of France his mistress, and only has eyes for his causes. This made him a foil of the cynical, wine-loving Grantaire, who believed in nothing but Enjolras himself. Despite their differences, Grantaire looked up to Enjolras, and the two were the last to fall during the final battle. Enjolras also seemed to have had a fairly close relationship to his "second-in-command", Combeferre.
Combeferre[]
Combeferre (died June 6, 1832) was the soft-spoken, philosophical member of the Friends of the ABC.
Despite being a mild book reader, Combeferre didn't hesitate to ensure his opinion was placed on the table. Many looked to him as the stem of innocence due to his demeanor; nevertheless, he was proven an excellent and knowledgeable leader. He believed in the concept of peace, and more-so desired to handle their situation in a civilized manner. Either way, he himself was willing to take the bullet when the time came. He was an innocent man with well intent and a brave heart just as so many others in the society. Combeferre had a fairly close friendship with Enjolras among the members of the Friends of the ABC, and was killed alongside Joly and Feuilly by a cannon blast, creating a large hole inside the Corinthe.
Courfeyac[]
Courfeyac (1807 - June 6, 1832) was the third-in-command of the Friends of the ABC. He was a charming
young man with much to say, and was rather influential to the public; especially upon women. Despite his flirtatious attitude, he was devoted to Enjolras and didn't fail him as a member of the Friends of the ABC. While it is unknown how many lovers Courfeyac had, he did have a girlfriend, Mireille, for much of the time he was shown in the series. As Mireille along with the other women and those heavily injured are instructed to leave the barricade, she gives Courfeyac her pendant necklace to hold, and the two promise to celebrate the Friends' victory by having a picnic. He was close friends with Marius; the two once living together in Courfeyac's apartment. After the inital fight between Marius and Enjolras, Courfeyac persistantly offered Marius the opportunity to join the society again, mostly as an outlet for [Marius's] initial troubles with "Ursule" (aka Cosette). Marius himself never declared himself a member of the society, due to his and Enjolras's opposing views of the government, but nonetheless, he did visit the group often, and took part in the battle at the barricade. Not long before the final battle, Courfeyac approached Marius and stated that it may have a mistake for him to "join" the society, since he had by then successfully found Ursule (which Marius corrects as Cosette's proper name). Marius rebuffed, stating that Cosette would understand his "membership" in the society, since she had suffered due to poverty in her childhood. Courfeyac dies by a gunshot wound to the heart, followed by falling from the roof of the Corinthe where he was firing gunshots, dropping Mireille's pendant in the process.
Grantaire[]
Grantaire (1803 - June 6, 1832) was a skeptical, wine-loving, yet knowledgeable member of the Friends of the ABC. Unlike the other members of the society, Grantaire did not believe in the causes that the
group fought and died for. The sole reason for his involvement with the revolutionary group was because he admired and looked up to Enjolras, the leader of the society. His fixation to Enjolras was rooted in the leader’s passionate and wholehearted belief, which Grantaire lacked. Due to Grantaire's skepticism and near-constant state of drunkenness, his feelings for Enjolras weren't reciprocated. Despite Enjolras treating him harshly, he always looked up to him, and, regardless of his feelings towards the cause, was a friend to the rest of Friends of the ABC, and valued for his easy-going nature and presumed friendliness. He dies smiling alongside Enjolras by a National Guard firing squad on the second floor of the Corinthe, stating (to Enjolras) that he still believes in him, and that the revolution will succed sometime in the future.
Laigle / L'aigle de Meaux / Lesgle[]
Laigle (1803 - June 6, 1832) was known [by himself] as the "unluckiest man in France" and member of the Friends of the ABC. He was also the group's oldest member, being either 28 or 29 at his time of his death. While not shown much in the Anime, he was best friends with fellow Friends member Joly in the novel. Also differing from the novel is his hair—in the novel, Laigle is bald, though in the Anime, he has a thin layer of black hair. He is one of the first killed during the final attack in the barricade by a cannon blast (unlike being shot in the novel).