L'Illusion des 'sosies' dans un délire systématisé chronique

to the existence of a delusion or rather a strange interpretation, a sort of agnosia of individual identification: for about 10 years she has been transforming everyone in her entourage, even those closest to her, such as her husband and daughter, into various and numerous doubles. Before analysing this illusion and its pathogenesis, we will describe the psychosis as a whole, as otherwise it is not possible to give the true stages of the evolution of this delusion which can be masked by later delusions. On 3 June 1918 Mme M. goes to inform the local police commissioner of the illegal confinement of a large number of people, particularly children, in the basement of her house and throughout Paris: she requests that two policemen accompany her to verify what she is saying and to free the prisoners. She is taken to the Infirmary and two days later is admitted to Sainte-Anne where Professor Dupr6 certifies her as suffering from chronic psychosis which is hallucinatory, interpretive and imaginative with themes of the fantastic, delusions of royal grandeur, of substituting people around her and being in a state of psychic excitement. On 7 April 1919 Mme M.. is transferred to Maison-Blanche. Mme M. is now 53 years old with no family history of psychiatric disorder. She had typhoid at the age of 12, received a primary education until the age of 14, then learnt and practised the trade of couturier. Married in 1898 at the age of 29, one year later she had a son who died (she believes he was substituted), then she had twin girls, one of whom died (abducted according