Florence Rey was born on August 27, 1975. She was the daughter of a schoolteacher. Growing up, she showed interest in her studies. At nineteen, she started studying medicine but later dropped out to study literature instead. This change reflected her passion for the written word and creative expression.

Florence lived with her boyfriend, Audry Maupin, at the time of the incident. Audry was two years older than Florence. They lived together in a squat in an abandoned bourgeois house in Nanterre, France. Their living arrangement was part of a larger lifestyle choice that embraced counterculture and anti-establishment views.

Both Florence and Audry were involved with an underground political group. This involvement caught the attention of the Renseignements Généraux, the French intelligence services. They were under observation prior to the incident. Their shared beliefs were also reflected in the materials found in their squat after the event. Police discovered various revolutionary and anarchist writings, including texts like "The Society of the Spectacle" by Guy Debord. They also found Florence and Audry's own writings that showcased elements of surrealism, radicalism, and situationism.

The incident began on October 4, 1994, at 9:25 PM at the Porte de Pantin car pound. Florence Rey and her boyfriend, Audry Maupin, climbed the fence with plans to steal police firearms. They encountered two policemen but discovered the officers did not have handcuffs. Instead, they sprayed the cops with tear gas and escaped. Outside, they hijacked a taxi driven by Amadou Dialoo, who had a passenger, Georges Monnier. They threatened both men with weapons and commanded Dialoo to drive to Place de la Nation.

After ten minutes, they saw a police patrol car. Dialoo drove through a red light and collided with the patrol car. The three officers jumped out, and Rey and Maupin opened fire, killing two officers, Laurent Gerard and Thierry Memard. During the gunfight, Maupin shot Dialoo, but Monnier managed to escape by lying on the ground. The couple then hijacked another car, a Renault Supercinq, driven by Jacky Bensimon. They ordered him to proceed to the Bois de Vincennes.

As the chase continued, Maupin fired at a motorcycle officer, causing minor injuries. Upon reaching Vincennes, Bensimon encountered a police roadblock. He pulled the handbrake, causing the car to spin and throwing him out, likely saving his life. Maupin shot a motorcycle policeman, Guy Jacob, before he was fatally injured by police fire. Maupin died in the hospital the following evening. Before being taken into custody, Rey kissed Maupin without showing any emotion and refused to talk during her interrogation.

Rey was held in the Maison d'Arrêt des Femmes at Fleury Merogis while awaiting her trial. Her trial started on September 17, 1998, in Paris. Rey showed no emotional response during the proceedings and had different legal representation. Ten witnesses offered varying accounts of the events, but ballistic evidence indicated that Maupin fired all the lethal shots.

On September 30, 1998, the prosecutor recommended a 30-year sentence for Rey. After her lawyers spoke on her behalf, she chose to remain silent. The jury found her guilty as an accomplice, sentencing her to 20 years in prison. She served time at the Maison d'Arrêt des Femmes in Rennes.

Abdelhakim Dekhar was also involved, accused of supplying a gun to Rey and Maupin. He received a four-year prison sentence but was released soon after. After serving her time, Rey was released on May 3, 2009. She had spent her time in prison studying and working in the kitchen.