Original subtitles

Judge Fayard, a. k. a. The Sheriff

A few explanations of Acronyms, initialisms,words and phrases.

Time: 16:56:Service d'Action Civique A right wing militia.

Time: 20:05:L�Humanit� A Communist newspaper.

Time: 22:05: The OAS Organization of the Secret Army

A French dissident paramilitary organization during the Algerian War.

Time: 22:05:The Petit Clamart. Refers to a 1962 assassination attempt

against president Charles de Gaulle in the Paris suburb of Le Petit-Clamart.

Probably by the OAS

Time: 23:26:Vidocq. A former crook who subsequently

became the founder and first director of the crime-detection S�ret� Nationale.

Time: 29:18: St�phanois. Inhabitants of Saint-�tienne

are called st�phanois in French.

Time: 01:28:29: The MPC Its primary objective,

to support the Algerian policy of General de Gaulle.

Come on, come on, Justice doesn�t wait, Pichon.

- Are you OK, Pichon? - Yes, your honour.

FACTORY ON STRIKE.

Please open the door.

But it was an industrial accident.

The accident resulted in one dead man, and he was the fourth in four years.

But, for God�s sake, I�m no slave driver!

My father was a pit worker.

I started with him as a trammer when I was 14. I was a worker too.

Please.

Fetch Mr Suster and call the ingeniors� office.

Don�t move, it will be far better for everyone.

Mr Camus, as of now, everything that you say can be used against you.

- Well, go on, arrest me. - Follow me willingly, please.

This is an abuse of power.

Come in.

Come in, Fayard.

You must know why I asked you to come and see me.

- No, Mr Public Prosecutor. - Sit down.

Do you know that the executives of the Camus factory

are about to demonstrate in order to ask for their director to be freed.

So... How far are you in the case?

Still a few hearings tomorrow. The executives of the factory.

And you think that the arrest of Mr Camus is essential?

At least until we hear the executives, yes.

I want to avoid their statements being dictated by their boss.

He�s a corporate manager, not a Mafia godfather.

- I realize that, Mr Public Prosecutor. - Sit down.

You arrested a company director,

an important man for the economic life of the area.

Besides, nothing in his past justifies extraordinary measures to be taken.

- He�s an honest man. - Extraordinary...

I beg your pardon, Mr Public Prosecutor, but...

Look, Fayard, don�t pretend that you don�t understand.

If I seem to encroach on your jurisdiction, it�s because I too have responsibilities.

The Minister of Justice thought the arrest was surprising.

The National Council of French Employers intervened.

Deputy Chalabert came in person.

Of course, it�s your case,

and you alone are judge, but I do hope you�ve got a solid case.

Quite solid, Mr Public Prosecutor.

This is the fourth fatal accident in three years at the Camus factory.

Besides, all reports from the labour inspectorate

prove that, for several years, nothing...

Please, spare me the catalogue.

What I think inappropriate is the custody.

I�m only enforcing the law.

Every year in France Thirty-six thousand persons are placed in custody

and nobody minds, especially when they�re North Africans

who will be freed after six months because of a lack of evidence, case dismissed.

Whether the case will be dismissed or not,

you won�t keep Mr Camus in jail for six months.

I�ll get you.

Thank you.

- So he gave you a telling-off? - Yes, he pulled out all the stops.

The NCFE, Deputy Chalabert, the Minister of Justice...

Do you think you�ll be able to get an indictment?

If they want me to stop, they�ll have to take the case from me.

You�re right. Go on.

Hide me.

- What�s the matter. - No, don�t look, don�t look.

The girl in the car: she must not see me. Don�t look!

What did you do to that girl?

- Is it serious? - Very serious.

- I�m being spied on. - Spied on?

I seduced a dreadful girl who spies on me.

I swear it�s the truth.

- Who is this? - It�s me.

Come on: open the door.

I know who you are now. It�s not pretty at all.

Michelle... Open, damn it!

No, your honour. Do you have a search warrant?

Now let�s be clear: I�m going to count to three then break the door down.

One... two... three!

Do you think you�re funny?

It�s even funnier from the outside.

I�ll do it to you, one day, if you want.

- Why did you lie to me? - I lied to you?

Why didn�t you tell me that you were an examining magistrate?

I lied to you.

Because you�re important to me.

And, what with your ideas, of course, I have to lie.

But I have no space in my life for someone who leads people to the electric chair.

What about you, teachers? Don�t you work in repression too?

- Where did you get that? - Of course you do, of course.

It�s a little easy anyway because, first, you don�t know how I do my job.

- And then? - Then... - Yes, then?

Then I wanted to see you, so I came and here I am. Good morning.

No. Let go of me.

Would this be a declaration perchance?

That bloke with you. Who was he?

Look, I�m fed-up with it.

We should live together, it would be nicer.

Don�t you think?

Lately, I took a serious decision: I�m going to move.

I�ll rent a larger flat.

It would be stupid if you didn�t benefit from it, wouldn�t it?

It�s no use taking your clothes off, my girlfriend is going to come home.

Well, your girlfriend will just have to come to bed with us.

Come on, come on. So I have to do everything?

I have to do everything. Take my clothes off. Take your clothes off.

No, stop. Stop. My girlfriend...

What...? Oh, good heavens! Your husband.

Hey! Is there someone in this joint?

Shit! Shit! You�re going to wake up the whole neighbourhood.

Shall I fill it up, gentlemen?

Your cash register! Where is your cash register?

- Do you want help? - Where�s your cash register?

I�ve got it. Hey, not so fast, you sod.

- Thank you... - Did it go all right?

Mr Camus? I�m from "Le Courrier du Centre".

- What�s your impression? - I�ve got nothing to say.

The Chamber of Indictment decided my release.

I�m going back to my job at the factory.

The investigating magistrate who had you arrested was taken off the case.

What�s your opinion?

Mr Fayard thought he was doing his job. It�s not my place to judge him.

His superiors did.

I just want to thank all the people who supported me during this ordeal.

- How was your stay in prison? - The guards were quite decent.

It�s not worse than the military service, you know.

Are you OK, Pichon?

Come on. It�s not the first time that a judge is taken off a case.

Anyway, the demonstration is made:

an employer is not untouchable anymore. Well... a little less.

- Don�t think so? You don�t think so? - Yes, yes, of course.

You�re going to be all alone.

I know what I�m doing and I�m not alone.

Do you think the red judges in the syndicate will...

Pichon, don�t bug me, there are no red judges.

There are only judges who try to... to do their job.

Well, your honour, are you done operating in high society?

- Coming back to small thugs? - Where is your man?

Here.

You�ve not been spoiled: a lousy bloke in a lousy case.

Are you Paul Lecourtois a. k. a. Paulo?

I am, your honour, but it wasn�t me... I didn�t do the job.

I keep telling that to Mr Inspector.

It wasn�t you? And what is this?

I already told you: I fell on the stairs at home.

I fail to understand what they want of me, your honour.

The cops came to fetch me when I was quietly at home.

- Where is the witness? - Back there.

Mr Lacaze, you were on duty the day before yesterday, at night?

It was him, commissioner, no need to look further.

The man is a looney.

Mr Lacaze, you�re positive that this man

is the one who attacked the gas station the other night?

It was him, I tell you. I�d stake my head on it.

The other one was a tall dark man with a moustache.

They came in a white Peugeot 504

I was alone, which is normal for the night shift.

They asked me to fill it up and just after that they robbed me.

- This one was holding the revolver. - It wasn�t me.

And shit! The day before yesterday, I was working nights.

Two of my pals will tell you so, they were with me.

We�ll check.

- Do you know a man called... - Julien Nouvel.

- ... Julien Nouvel, a. k. a. Juju? - Yes, vaguely.

No, not vaguely. You were inseparable.

The day before yesterday, at night, Mr Lacaze was attacked

by two men in a white Peugeot 504, a stolen car.

One hour later,

the car was found crashed into a tree with a dead man inside: Julien Nouvel.

Well, yes, Juju is dead, I read that in the paper. So what?

Unfortunately, Mr Lacaze positively identifies you.

Yes, yes, positively. Yes, you can write down "positively", Miss.

But since it�s not true! What does he want? To hurt me?

- You will regret that, mark my words. - Enough, enough. No threats.

Take him away.

It wasn�t me anyway. And I don�t care: I�ve got an alibi.

Hey! You can�t do anything against an alibi.

What�s the alibi?

The two night watchmen who worked at the textile factory with Paulo.

- Well, that�s what they say. - So Paulo is a night watchman?

Yes. For a security company. The Cerb�re.

But don�t let it overawe you: they�re just goons.

- The Cerb�re. - Yes, Sir.

They�re watching factories, big stores,

but they also work as employers� militias, anti-strike special teams,

well, liars and Co.

- You�ll have the two witnesses summoned. - All right.

I was joking earlier but I think it stinks that they took you off the Camus case.

Some of your colleagues think it�s very good.

Our field is like yours:

lots of bad habits, a good sweeping would be necessary.

Well, sweep, old boy. Sweep...

Paulo and I did our patrol from 11 p. m. to midnight,

then we played cards in the watchmen�s room till 1 a. m. with Keller.

Then Keller did a patrol with Paulo, and so on.

- So Paulo never went away? - Well, yes he did.

He had to take a leak during our card game.

Right...

Please sit down.

I heard you separately, everything seems to tally,

except that you, Mr C�cel said that the card game was between 12 and 1,

and you, Mr Keller, between 1 and 2. That�s all.

Oh, no, remember: midnight,

just after I did my patrol with Paulo.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, I remember now that he says it, yeah.

Your presence at the factory at night is not as continuous as you say it is.

I have here a statement of the owner of the "Zanzibar",

where you�re often seen between patrols.

Having a drink is not forbidden, is it?

No, but you went several times to the Zanzibar that night.

Paulo, on the other hand, was not seen there even once.

What do you want...

I remind you that you�re testifying under oath.

Do you confirm your statement?

Let us sign so we can go.

If they knew how you�re treating us, some people wouldn�t be happy.

That�s true. We�re not thugs.

You shouldn�t shake us: we know a lot of people.

You don�t believe me?

Service d'Action Civique Civic Action Service

- You were right: very big liars. - I told you so.

And impudent to boot.

Tell me: in 15 minutes, I�m going to see the boss of Cerb�re.

- Do you know him well? - Yes I do.

Marcheron, he�s an ex colleague.

A pimping cop who owned two brothels

and had 15 girls working for him, does that ring a bell?

- He was fired? - Quietly, yes, through the back door.

Forced retirement.

First he was a private cop, tails, cuckolds, dirty pictures...

then he created his security company with the help of Deputy Chalabert.

Since then, he�s doing very well, thank you.

- The SAC? - Yes, the SAC.

The employers� militias, Peugeot, all of that.

But Marcheron also organizes the security of political reunions and bills posting.

He prepared Chalabert�s electoral tour.

- So you can say he�s got a cover? - This thick.

Another one.

- How much do I owe you, Marcel? - 1,10 francs, Mr Marcheron.

Thank you.

- Goodbye, Mr Marcheron. - Bye.

See: Paulo is in the service book: he checked in during all of his patrols.

Someone could have checked in for him.

Don�t the other two watchmen say that he was there?

They�re contradicted by the petrol pump attendant

who positively identified Paulo.

Well, confront them all, give them some truth serum, what can I say?

I�ll be honest with you, Mr Marcheron.

I�m sure there was a complicity between Paulo and the other two watchmen.

You�re not going to cover for your employees� misdemeanours,

especially if they hide something from the law, are you?

Now what does that mean?

- You�re accusing me of being an accomplice. - No...

Look, I�ll be honest with you too, your honour:

I think you�re exceeding your attributions.

I was in the shop for 22 years, you must have been told that.

I know the drill and I have many friends, so you won�t scare me.

I�m not trying to scare you.

I just want you to help me expose two false witnesses.

Look, I told you what I knew. Goodbye, Sir.

I hoped that you�d help me of your own free will, but since you don�t want to,

you probably will when I remind you of Drislamy.

Never heard of him.

Of course you have: Drislamy, the bill poster.

Killed by several bullets during Mr Chalabert�s campaign.

Five employees of Cerb�re were involved in that.

At the time, it was even said that you were there.

The communists charged me with that.

If you read more than " L�Humanit�"...

I also read official files.

The Drislamy case had been dormant for two years, we�re going to wake it up.

- You won�t dare. - Care to bet?

But what exactly do you want? That I help you destroy an alibi?

- I just want to get Paulo. - Well, get him.

His alibi is false and you know it very well.

I�ll see what I can do but I make no promises. Oh, my book.

I�ll keep it for a while. Until your next visit.

- Not bad. A little nervous with the last two. - true

- You�re using a 38 Special? - I prefer it to an automatic.

Bravo. Almost as good as?

One of these days, Inspector, we�ll have to compete for Olympic shooting speed.

Five bullets in four frames.

In eight seconds, six seconds and four seconds.

- Now if you wish. - No. No, another time.

- Why not right now? - Don�t be impatient.

We�ll certainly meet again.

The man didn�t learn to shoot that way here.

He learned to shoot everywhere: Indochina, Algeria, Katanga...

The OAS, the Petit Clamart.

- So what? - What does he do now?

He�s a wine travelling salesman. Rise and fall... How the mighty fall

What the hell are you doing here?

We�ve got an emergency. The little judge is a pain in the arse.

- I�m just out of his office. - I know. Get in.

Come on. Marcheron didn�t organize the robbery, did he?

No, but he has to protect Paulo. Why? That�s what I�d like to know.

- Tell me, my dear chap. - Hello, Mr Deputy Public Prosecutor.

- I�m just dropping by. Do you have a minute? - Certainly.

- I just met Marcheron. Is he in trouble? - Did he complain?

No, he just told me that he came from your office.

Thanks to Marcheron, thugs ended up here daily, he was a great police officer.

Solved 80% of his cases. Of course, he had his own ways, he was almost a Vidocq...

- And something went wrong, right? - Yes...

Yes but he atoned for that since then.

He did us some great favours.

And he has... supporters: Chalabert, the Prefect,

I�m telling you this so you know who he is.

But he also kept some enemies. He�s being watched.

- So, being summoned to Court... - Testifying is not shameful at all.

- So a testimony is all that it was? - Nothing more.

Well, well, well, perfect, perfect.

No, I�m telling you this because I know your impetuosity, your ardour.

But you�re of course the master of your case.

- Go on, go on. - Goodbye, Mr Deputy Public Prosecutor.

Go on, go on...

He fears that I embarrass the illustrious Marcheron

but I need Marcheron, in order to blow a false witness out.

Funny. I once had the exact same problem with Marcheron.

- Hey, I�m interested. - Yes, but the file in the archives.

- Come, let�s go there. - But we don�t have clearance.

Don�t worry. Mrs Fayolle is in love with me.

Oh, the Sotero brothers.

Robbery in a department store.

I, Xavier Marcheron,

state that the brothers Sauveur and Jesus-Maria Sotero,

employed in my company, were assigned on the night of June the 17th to the 18th

in a team that was in charge of restarting...

the machines on the Gerflex premises.

That�s a p. c. word to qualify an... anti-strike operation.

Being the supervisor of said operation, I can testify

that the Sotero brothers indeed took part in it. Signed: Xavier Marcheron,

C.E.O. of the Cerb�re Company, Watches and Interim.

Hurry up, Mr Fayard, or Mr Guinsser will give me hell.

And that�s how the Sotero Brothers� case was dismissed.

You didn�t have anything to counter that?

Circumstantial evidence.

Give it to me, give it to me,

- I�ll put it back in place. - Thank you, Mrs Fayolle.

- I�m supposed to take you dancing on Saturday, aren�t I? - Yes.

- You do remember? - Yeah.

Lots of things are heard about the Sotero brothers.

They possibly even took part in the Saint-Etienne armed robbery.

- Did they? - Yes, but no evidence, and absolutely no police record.

Marcheron is going to worry when we take this old story out again.

The case is closed anyway.

Oh, shit, what does that mean, the case is closed?

- What�s the matter? What... - What?

If I can nail Marcheron today, that case is going to be reopened,

and not only that one. Why do you laugh?

Do you really think they�ll let you do it?

Do you think I�ll chicken out?

Now? OK.

Mr Councillor...

- How are you. - Good evening.

- Will you stay with us tonight? - Not sure.

Edwige and Marie-Claude, go and do that in your rooms.

What are you doing here?

It�s the captain, Mr Marcheron, he�s waiting for you.

Rampo. Why doesn�t he come here?

He said you had to come. It�s about Paulo.

So they decided to do something at last.

Tell them I�ll be there in one hour.

I�ll drive you. They said now, so...

What about afterwards? Shall I walk back?

Don�t worry, I�ll drive you back.

- Oh, damn! See you later, Jeannine. - Good evening, commissioner.

Bye.

All right, all right, it's us, we�ve just arrived.

Good morning, Commissioner.

A worker found Marcheron�s body this morning when he came to work.

Will you excuse me?

He doesn�t say anything but he was jolted anyway.

He was working under Marcheron once.

Can you see? Three bullets in the belly.

Do you know what it means? A traitor�s death.

He wasn�t killed here, was he?

No, but they didn�t try to hide him either:

they put him here on display. A public notice.

So?

Well, we thought that Marcheron could be in cahoots with the St�phanois

And what is Commissioner Fougerolles saying?

Nothing. He doesn�t talk much.

I�m finished. Can we take him away, your honour?

As you wish, Commissioner. You�ll send me the autopsy report.

All right. Goodbye.

Marec? Are you coming?

Good morning, Lecourtois. Surprised?

I�ve been busy in my office for three days, so here I am now.

I came because weird things are happening:

your two pals, the night watchmen, disappeared.

Not only them, by the way: half of the Cerb�re staff went away...

Holidays, a sick mother... Do you know why?

We know everything here. Someone got Mr Marcheron�s hide.

Yes, and you�ll be able to attend his funeral,

because I�m releasing you. Temporarily, of course.

I don�t understand.

Of course. Your two friends testified under oath, clearing you.

Marcheron can�t contradict them anymore. I�m releasing you.

- No, I�ve got to stay here, Your Honour. - Have you?

Oh, don�t pretend.

You know very well that, if I go out, I�m dead.

They got Marcheron, they won�t miss me.

- Who are they? - The doctor�s men.

- They won�t miss me. - The doctor? Simon Pradal?

But Simon Pradal is in jail for five years. Here, by the way.

Yes, he�s here, but the others are outside.

You must... you must keep me here, Your Honour.

Look... I robbed the gas station.

Here we are: are you happy now? I confessed.

What about Pradal, the doctor?

Is he the boss of the St�phanois?

What? I wouldn�t know.

What St�phanois?

You must indict me, Your Honour, I confessed.

Cut the bullshit, Paulo.

I�ll indict you, that�s for sure,

but a case can be as heavy as we want. As I want.

So, if it�s light, you�ll get off with six months.

Heavier, you�ll get three years. Your choice.

You don�t have a right. This is not legal.

You�re in deep shit. You scratch my back, I�ll scratch yours.

So... Pradal, the doctor... Is he the boss of the St�phanois?

Did you ever see him with Marcheron?

The doctor... I can�t say about the doctor.

- But the others came sometimes. - Who else?

- The Virgins. - The Virgins?

Yeah, that�s how we call them because they�ve never been convicted,

a virgin police record.

You must have me transferred, Your Honour,

put me in another slammer, I can�t stay in the same jail as the doctor.

You didn�t tell me anything interesting. I fail to see why I should help you.

I heard the Virgins talking in the workshop.

If I tell you everything, will you have me transferred?

They�re planning a big job. Bigger than the Saint-Etienne job.

With the doctor in jail?

It�s possible to escape from jail, isn�t it?

I�m not an animal in a zoo, Mr Warden. My lawyers will be warned.

I told you: he�s not friendly.

In spite of the preferential treatment?

Don�t let it fool you: he�s highly watched

- one thing balances the other. - And the other way around.

What did you want to tell me about him?

Let�s go in your office.

Talk of an escape? Of course there�s talk of an escape,

there are always those. Here, it�s called "Lunchbox Radio".

What if it were true for once?

I told you: Pradal is highly watched.

He�s kept in isolation all day long

and may only take a 30 minutes� walk a day, never at the same time.

Well, just cancel his walk then.

Oh, I love that, at last a repressive judge.

But Pradal has the Book working for him and his lawyers have influence.

You won�t mind if I have a talk about that in high places?

If you think it�s part of your responsibilities.

Come on, Davoust. All of France knows that a famous politician

stole the files of ORTF in order to sell it to a private company.

It�s proven. It was even written in the newspapers.

And he�s still part of the government, well shit!

But with such theories, you�ll blow everything up in ten years.

Who cares about theories?

But I want to see your face when Pradal slips over the wall.

That�s not the problem. I�m in charge of the Pradal case.

You could at least have talked to me before you meddled in it.

What do I look like now?

Oh, anyway, my meddling didn�t change much, you see.

Pradal�s lawyers made quite a scene.

- Are you surprised? - Oh, no.

But isn�t it enough for you that he�s in prison?

What would you like? Put him in a cage?

If you knew the Doctor, you wouldn�t talk like this.

Maybe but it was my case anyway.

But won�t we have to share our cases, one day?

A Soviet, is that it? No, thank you, no.

- I don�t believe this. - OK, look, I�m going to take a swim.

Come, Cathy, leave them alone.

Can�t you talk about something else, for once?

Drop your gun!

You won�t get killed for 2000 francs a month, will you?

- What are you doing? - No, don�t worry, I�m almost done.

- Oh yes, no, no, no, not here. - But I need the space.

You�re not going to start making a mess, are you?

Right, look, we�ll see about this later.

- We need a partition here. - Yeah...

Oh, no, no, no, no, no,

don�t put that there, they�re not just any papers, I need them.

But a plant needs light.

At least put it on a plate, you�ll spill soil everywhere.

Oh, well.

Wait! No, no, not there.

I cleared two shelves for you here, they�re plain to see.

- But books are meant to be with books. - Don�t mix them, that�s all.

Make up your mind:

- you were the one who wanted us to live together. - Yes, I was the one...

Well, you�ll have to change some of your bachelor habits.

You don�t think that I�m going to settle here like this, in your slippers.

We�ll buy a desk for you. We�ll put it in the bedroom. OK?

We�re not going to start buying furniture, are we?

Look, my darling, I said that in order to please you...

Oh, you see: darling. You see: darling.

If it goes on like this, we�re going to set up a wedding list in three months.

First I didn�t say "darling", I said "my darling",

and then, don�t tell a lie in order to get at the truth:

- I won�t marry you. - Swear?

Yes, I can swear that. Here. Here it is.

- I�ll kiss you then. - On the armchair...

Please: later, later, later. Here, I�ll care about Ubu now.

Oh, yes, that�s it. About Ubu...

I�d rather not, if I have a choice.

Look, it�s Ubu and I or nothing, we�re not going over that again.

- Come. - Right, I don�t have a choice.

- Who gave you the rotten rabbit? - That�s no concern of yours.

It�s a rotten rabbit.

You�ll get me in trouble with Judge Davoust.

The doctor�s escape is his business, not mine.

Except if there�s a connexion with Marcheron.

He�s been seen here for the last time, on the night he was killed.

- Where does the doctor fit in it? - He owns the joint.

Didn�t Deputy Chalabert own interests in it?

No matter. The manager is Jeannie Alfaric, the beauty from Toulouse.

She�s the Doctor�s girlfriend. That�s why I came to sniff around here.

Do you think you�ll find Pradal hiding under her bed?

Business as usual.

I�ve got a stool pigeon here: I hold her thanks to a small drugs case.

About Pradal, she didn�t know anything,

but she saw Jeannie and Marcheron on the night of the crime.

- Does Jeannie confirm? - It�s obvious that you don�t know her.

- I don�t remember. - Are you sure?

I already told it to Mr Marec this morning.

I don�t know where he picks up all his gossip but he�s been misinformed.

I didn�t see Mr Marcheron that night, and no one came to ask for him.

For now, my visit is informal, but if you force me, I can officially summon you.

I told everything I knew. I won�t walk you out, you know the way.

We�ve got good reasons to believe that Marcheron was here the night he was killed.

And I think that, for your own good, you should try harder.

And I, Your Honour, think that, for your own good,

you should leave me bloody well alone.

You could have your fingers slapped.

I know that they have a weakness for your inmates at the headquarters,

but think about it anyway.

The Police make bourgeois types avoid a place.

How would you like a little raid every night?

- Did you lock the gate? - Yes, Captain.

- You may unleash the dogs. Good night. - Good night, Captain.

- He�s waiting for you. - Was that the caretaker?

Yes. Don�t worry. He didn�t see you come in, he won�t see you leave.

Joanno! At the time, we weren�t on the same side, that�s true,

but try to forget your grudges. Today, we�re associates.

We�re not associates. You pay me for doing a job, that�s all.

Come: he�s upstairs.

Yes.

- Can I offer you a drink? - Thank you but I don�t have much time.

I saw our friends: the transfer has got to take place on the 7th.

Here are Xeroxes of the itinerary, with detailed timing,

checkpoints and protection measures.

- No police motorcyclists? - No, just two unmarked wagons.

One in front, the other at the rear.

- Nothing else? - No, no. They�re playing the anonymity card.

It�s a special transfer

which will take place only once and that no one could foresee.

Even the security guards will be summoned at the last minute.

What about the general alarm measures?

You said they were changed every month.

Here are the orders that were sent to all squads for the current month.

Does it include all the road blocks?

Yes. With this, you can travel through half of France...

...without meeting a single gendarme.

- We won�t have to go that far. - Of course not.

- Will you make the final delivery? - Yes.

Perfect.

You didn�t say how much.

Between eight hundred million and one billion.

One third for our friends, one third for me, one third for you.

Your friends are gluttons.

Without them, you wouldn�t have these top-secret documents.

And without me, I wonder how you would be able to pass such a sum of money.

What about the little judge? How do you intend to tame him?

Anyway, since Marcheron died, he hasn�t got a case.

It will do for now. But he�s the stubborn kind.

If he persists, he�ll be either taken off the case or transferred.

Believe me, it will fall on him from high places.

Hello? Hello, I�m listening. Hello?

I�m must hurry, I�m going to be late.

Hello? Hello, I�m listening!

Look, if it�s a joke, it�s not funny at all.

OK, Ubu, you�ll guard the house, right?

Goodbye, Ubu, goodbye.

And should the phone ring, don�t answer it.

- And what about the guy from Martinique? - Nothing.

He was tried in court and sentenced 15 days, suspended.

15 days in jail because he pissed in the street?

15 days, suspended.

And it�s not because he pissed in the street, he pissed on a woman.

A white woman, of course.

Don�t bug me, it�s not a matter of colour,

the guy willingly pissed on a broad, period.

You�re not going to tell me that pissing on people...

- Is my little Moulin-�-Vent good? - Very fine, yes.

- � is... is a political act? Come on! - Well, it can be.

Anything can be then... Making love...

Since you mention it... I didn�t want to show it to you but...

...I found this on my windshield. Here.

- A love letter. - Well...

You shitty left-winger, you�re being fucked by an enemy of the people.

Warn your wanker that if he goes on sticking his nose everywhere,

he won�t be able to stick it in your pants anymore.

- Your little friends sent you this? - Whomever it is, I think it�s disgusting.

Oh, I don�t know, it�s... it�s colourful.

- Of course the spelling is faulty. - Is that your sole reaction?

No, not at all, it... it gives me ideas.

It�s interesting.

We�re going to try this tonight.

You nincompoop.

Oh, blast it, you can never find a parking space around here.

Don�t get excited. Go upstairs, I�ll find one on the other side.

Ubu! Ubu...

Ubu!

I hope the fool didn�t get away.

Ubu! Ubu, are you here?

The bastards!

Ubu...

Did you find the surprise?

Tell your judge to cut the bullshit

because we too could do a raid every night.

Just to scare the bourgeois types away.

You�re going to wait for me here.

Lock your door and wait for me to come back.

No, no, don�t leave me.

Hey, you! Do you have your card?

On the next threat,

on the slightest incident involving Miss Louvier, I�m closing your joint down.

I affix the seals and I arrest everyone, beginning with you.

But... what does he say?

- He�s drunk. - Come on now.

Gentlemen, gentlemen.

Don�t push His Honour around. Can�t you see he�s not himself?

The man is drunk!

Your Honour, please. Look: go home. Get some rest.

What? You�re a judge? Where do you think you are?

In a brothel. In a brothel!

At this time of night, you�re not on duty, Your Honour.

And this is a private place.

Will you go out or would you rather have me call the Police?

- No, no, it�s all right. I�m going. - Good bye, Your Honour.

Mr Fayard, I do not congratulate you.

What you did last night caused a genuine scandal.

I get complaints from every direction.

I know, Mister President, I just passed Deputy Chalabert in the corridor.

This is insufferable and unworthy of a magistrate.

You literally made a show of yourself.

Mr President, I was subjected to explicit threats.

From Mrs Alfaric?

Everybody know that Mrs Alfaric is the mistress of the...

of the Doctor, yes. Simon Pradal.

My investigation embarrasses a lot of people.

We do not doubt that you were threatened, since you�re telling us so.

But do you have proof? Were the threats public?

- Of course not. Phone calls. An anonymous note. - A note?

Unfortunately, I didn�t keep it.

My dear friend, you were really ill-advised.

To make a scene in public, in a private place,

and without any proof. No, this is really too much.

And can you see where it gets us?

"Did the Sheriff want to protect his girlfriend, the mysterious Miss L.?"

You�re investigating the death of a witness,

you�re not a righter of wrongs in the Old West.

Once again, my dear chap, don�t try to do everything yourself.

Let the Police do their job.

Oh, all right, I was wrong.

But if I�m being threatened, it�s not without a reason.

And if the Marcheron case embarrasses so many people,

it�s because it could make way for a much more important case.

Oh, the St�phanois gang? Yes, let�s admit it.

But, since you mention it, are you really qualified to investigate so sensitive a case.

Mr President? Mr Prosecutor? You don�t intend to take me off the case, do you?

Of course not.

If we took you off the case, people would say again that it was for political reasons

or because you�re part of a trade union that we don�t like.

You�ll keep the case. But, beware:

the Minister of Justice keeps an eye on you.

So at the slightest slip, of course...

Thank you, Mr Prosecutor.

The sheriff!

Don�t go too close, keep your distance.

- Stop! - OK?

Get ready.

Go!

- What�s going on behind us? - Step on it!

Get out or I blow the cab.

Come on, up against the wall. Hands up!

Cover us.

- You, go find help! - I�m on my way. - Let�s go.

Now split!

Halt!

Go on.

- What about Bouvines? - He�s dead. Come on: drive.

Well?

The guard is dead. This one is not much better.

Yeah...

Launch the general alarm measures and call every squad.

Yes, maybe an electricity company van. Emphasis on "maybe".

Eight and a half million in mail bags.

Well, eight hundred and fifty million, if you�d rather count in old francs.

Yes. Block all the roads, right? Control everything.

If it�s still possible...

So, are you happy? You�ve got your big job.

I�d rather have been wrong, Mr Commissioner.

Eight hundred and fifty million in four minutes,

no flaw, no glitch, a commando operation.

Take the small road on the left.

In 7 kilometers, we�ll find the National Road again, after going around the town.

We�re on time.

- How many roadblocks did we avoid? - This is the third one.

If the cops only knew, they would be sickened to death.

- Where is Marec�s office? - Last door on the right.

OK, look, call me back as soon as you have news. OK.

You couldn�t help coming here, could you?

- Was it the St�phanois? - Chances are that it was.

- And, not only that... - What? What is it?

I�ll explain in my office.

We�re not sure yet.

- Should Fougerolles learn that I told you about it... - Well, tell me.

The guard in the tunnel was killed by a P 38 Special bullet.

- Marcheron was killed by three P 38 bullets. - Same weapon?

The ballistic report will tell us if it was. They�re unusual weapons.

I know only one man in town who owns one.

A man called Joano a. k. a. The Captain.

A former paratrooper and member of the OAS.

He�s being watched for political reasons.

He has some underworld connections

but we can�t pin anything on him since the amnesty in 1962.

- And what is Joano doing? - Officially, he�s a wine salesman.

More than that I don�t know, but he�s mainly obsessed with weapons.

He�s often seen training at the Police�s shooting range.

- At the Police�s shooting range? - Yeah. He comes several times a week.

That�s where I saw his P 38.

Is it normal that a bloke like him comes and train in your facilities?

What can I tell you? He must have friends in high places.

It didn�t prevent you from interrogating him, did it?

According to his landlady, he�s gone skiing in Meg�ve.

Do you think he�s innocent?

I think he�s guilty as hell.

Oh, here he is.

He seems to be in trouble.

Is this your landing strip? I almost crashed.

Aren�t 200 metres enough for a Cessna?

With a slope like that? You could have warned me.

And aside from this small detail, did everything go smoothly?

We�ll tell you that when we see you again.

You�ll have a drink at my home before you go on your way?

No, I�m in a hurry. They�re waiting for me at 11:15 in M�g�ve. Bye.

Thank you, Bernard.

- Glad to see you. I was worried. - It was not the first time, was it?

The manager is waiting for us.

How much is the deposit?

Eight million and five hundred thousand new French francs,

that must be changed into Swiss francs.

No difficulty. I�ll call a chief-accountant.

As soon as he�s finished counting, we�ll give you a receipt.

Tell Mr Ritter to come immediately, please.

A cigar?

Well, Mr Deputy, what about the next elections?

As you can see, exactly the same scratches:

the same bullets out of the same gun.

- So? - It�s confirmed.

The same weapon killed the two men.

The bloke you picked up in the tunnel. Where is he?

- Bouvines? At the General Hospital. - Bouvines...

Give me the Court, please.

This is the bullet that killed the guard this morning during the van robbery,

and these are the bullets that killed Marcheron.

As you can see: the same scratches and, here, the same broken line.

The court? Miss Pichon, Investigating Chamber 7.

What do you mean she�s gone? Right, thank you.

- What can you do at such an hour? - Interrogate Bouvines.

- He�s three-quarter dead. - Precisely.

We must not wait for him to be completely dead.

General Hospital, please.

They won�t let you talk to him before tomorrow at 8 a. m.

They even threw me out.

All right, tomorrow 8 a. m. at the Hospital.

- Damn! And they say that us cops are rough. - He certainly has a temper.

Do you know that Bouvines is alive?

He was dead. I�m sure he was dead.

In order to be sure, you had to put a bullet in his head.

Or take him with you. The fact is he�s in the Hospital.

This has to be expected when you hire SAC faggots just fit to beat up strikers.

- If we�d gone to war with those... - You lost the war anyway.

Anyway, that�s long gone. You made a mistake.

Now they just have to interrogate Bouvines and he can tell on us all.

If that�s what�s bothering you, Bouvines will tell on no one.

- It wasn�t me. It wasn�t me. - You shot the guard, you can�t deny it.

Your fingerprints are on the gun.

I know, I... didn�t have the time to shoot.

And the same weapon killed Marcheron. So...

- It wasn�t... - Who was it then? - Marcheron...

If you didn�t kill Marcheron, who did?

- Who? - The captain.

The captain, there, at the manor house.

The manor house? What manor house?

What manor house?

The bastards let me down.

I won�t pay...

I won�t carry the can...

- There was Lecca. - Lecca.

- The red-haired one. - The red-haired one.

- The two gypsies. - The two gypsies, yes, and?

- It was the captain who fired. - And why did he kill Marcheron?

- Because... - Because what?

- Because he was ordered to. - Ordered by whom? Pradal?

- No.. Mr Paul... - Mr... Paul?

Gentlemen, you�re staying too long.

Mr Paul? Who is that? Talk! Who is Mr Paul?

He�s the boss. He�s the one who takes the money to Switzerland.

- Mr Paul what? - Come on, that�s enough.

Paul what? Give me a name, Bouvines.

Bouvines. You�re going to croak, for God�s sake!

You�re going to croak, so what do you care?

Can�t you see he�s going to faint?

- Bouvines. Bouvines. - Please, get out now!

- Let us do our job, Doctor. - Fayard, damn it!

Look: I�m responsible for this man.

If you go on, you�re going to kill him.

This is not the Gestapo! Get out!

Very well. I�ll come back tomorrow.

Try to keep him alive for me till then.

Your methods are unspeakable, Sir.

- I�ll send a report to court. - You do that, doctor. You do that.

I�ll send the list of names to Fougerolles immediately.

The St�phanois are done for this time.

That being said, you�re not using kid gloves.

- Goodbye. - Goodbye..

- I�m going to explain. - You don�t have to explain.

If I say I�m going to explain, I�m going to explain.

- Your Honour... - Shut up, Pichon, for God�s sake.

I want to know who Mr Paul is. Bouvines has to tell me.

Will you be willing to come back tomorrow, Pichon?

Yes, Your Honour.

Shit... shit...

Come on, move, don�t stay here.

- We�re always blamed. - Marec! Look!

What about those? Are they for picking strawberries?

- What is it? - Police.

What�s the matter?

What kind of new trouble have you gotten into?

- Don�t worry, it�s a mistake. - Come on, take him away.

You, at least, can�t say that you�ve got a virgin police record, can you?

- Precisely. I�m keeping out of trouble, as you can imagine. - Sure.

I know I did stupid things,

so if I get involved in anything now, I�m as good as jailed.

So why does Bouvines say you were with him in the tunnel?

How should I know? The man is crazy, I don�t even know him.

- Oh, you really don�t know him? - Two or three times. At the most.

But he�s got a card of the SAC, just like you?

We�re not the only ones in France.

And it even should make you think before you accuse people.

And what is this?

Oh, all right, I don�t have a licence.

But, what do you want? With all the assaults you read about in the papers...

all the little punks looking for trouble in the streets at night...

- Do you have a moment? - And even in the subway now.

Don�t move. We�ll see each other again.

Well? Of course they all have alibis?

Of course. But we�ll check each and every one of them, Mr Commissioner.

The problem is that we won�t get very far with them.

- The brains are not here. - Of course, as usual.

The Doctor and the Captain... We�ll have a hard time pinching those two.

This time, they�re not the only two. We could go very high.

Watch where you tread, will you?

If you goof, I don�t know you anymore.

- He�s recovering well but come and see him once an hour anyway. - OK.

- See you tomorrow. - Good night, Doctor.

So? How is he?

In his condition, he won�t try to get away, I can assure you that.

- Why don�t you go and have a bite? - No, I haven�t got a right to move.

I�ll bring you a sandwich and a beer later.

That�s very nice of you.

- Here, enjoy your meal. - Thanks. You�re a nice person.

- Say... Do you have something to open this? - Here.

Hello? Yes, speaking.

Oh, Marec.

What time is it? What? Shit...

Release the others? Oh, no, old boy, no.

No way but wait, I�ll be right over.

The light!

- If you learn anything, think of me. - Goodbye.

- Where are they? - In my office.

You�re not going to release them, are you?

You�ve still got them for three hours.

We�ll check their alibis but you can be sure that they�re watertight.

- Do you want some coffee. - Yes, yes.

What with Bouvines�s statement, you can keep them, can�t you?

What is it worth, now that he�s dead?

The lawyers will tear it to shreds in no time.

Yeah...

- I want to see them. - No, no. I can�t let you do that.

If the commissioner learned that I called you in the first place...

So he�s backing off too, isn�t he?

He�s opening his umbrella. You can understand him.

No, I don�t understand. And I don�t want to.

Come and see them.

I�m Judge Fayard. You know me?

The two of you, and you,

were in the tunnel with the Captain and Bouvines.

As for you, you were waiting at the roundabout,

driving the van, with the Doctor.

Did Bouvines tell you that?

I must tell you: he pulled your leg, Your Honour.

And Bouvines is dead.

- You�re not going to believe a dead man? - Who told them?

What can I tell you? You can hear everything is these rabbit hutches.

- Mr Paul? Does that ring a bell? - No.

Nor for you? Nor for you?

What about you? The Captain? Never heard of him?

What? I was unfit for service.

What about the manor? You don�t know it, neither of you?

Oh, yes, yes, sure.

Now, that manor house...

Bouvines can�t have invented it, and he says he saw you there.

I don�t even know what a manor is.

And I can�t afford it anyway.

The man was crazy. He always spoke nonsense.

A manor? Why not a castle?

This was in Lecca�s pocket.

"Manoir des Colliberts" Seminars, courses, conferences. Call: 41.18.70.

So you see: you know what a manor is.

You even carry the picture of one in your pocket.

I didn�t even look at that.

- Well, here, look. You see? - Oh, yes, yes.

You didn�t find this in a tobacconists, did you?

Well, I don�t know. Oh, yes, yes, yes, I remember because...

I found this on the counter in a bar.

Some guy probably forgot it when he left.

What about you, Sotero? Did you find this in a bar too?

Of course. I wouldn�t find matches at the chemist�s.

Do you know "Les Colliberts"?

Yes, it�s four kilometers from here in the Andenne Forest.

I�ll write you a search warrant and you�ll go there.

What about Commissioner Fougerolles?

We�re not going to wake him up for a tiny search, are we?

Sure...

Everybody out. Walk in silence. Come on.

Sara! Malika! Gently! Come now. Gently!

Come on, hey, how nervous you are!

- Sara... - Leave the dogs where they are.

- What do you want of me? - How many people in the house?

- Nobody�s home. - Oh yeah?

What about this car?

- We�ll go and search together, you�ll walk in front of us. - No.

I thought there was nobody home.

The Doctor and the Captain are here.

- Pradal! - What�s up?

The house is surrounded. Let�s get out though the back door.

Go on, I�ll cover you.

Halt!

Halt, Joano!

Stop. Stop!

This is a warning.

Put down your weapon, Joano.

- Will your leg be OK? - Fine, yes. What about Pradal?

The Doctor will make it.

Look what we found in his briefcase.

The little judge will be so happy.

General alarm measures.

And here, the location of every roadblock.

This is going to cause an uproar. What do you intend to do?

The caretaker confirmed that Marcheron was killed in the manor.

- I�ll go on with my investigation. - Who owns the manor?

Socotrav, a company. They paid the caretaker.

Socotrav? What kind of a company is that?

We�re working on that.

We hold the good end of the string, Marec.

We just have to unwind the ball.

Oh, sorry. It hurts, doesn�t it?

It�s a bitch: a broken knee. I�ll be assigned to the archives.

Don�t talk nonsense. You�ll soon run out of here.

I don�t regret giving you a hand anyway.

At least, with you, life is never dull.

Bye, Marec.

Get them all, Your Honour. And thanks for coming.

Bye... Marec...

Doctor. Will Marec be here long?

Well, the bullet shattered his kneecap. We�ll replace it with a prosthesis.

There will be months of rehabilitation but he�ll stay a cripple for life.

- Here. - What is this?

- A little report about Socotrav. - So what does Socotrav mean?

Soci�t� Comerciale de Travaux. (Commercial Company of Works)

They�re building council tower blocks,

housing projects, factories, all though France.

Where did you find this?

If anybody asks, just answer that it came in the mail.

The trade union won�t get involved...

Well, we�ll just have to check their books.

See where the money is coming from.

Say, the C.E.O.: Degueldre?

I warn you: you�ll have to walk on eggs.

What? Again?

Yes, Lucien Degueldre. You�ll find all the details in here.

He�s a businessman but also the regional boss of the Service d�Action Civique.

- The SAC? - Yes, the SAC.

And before that, a hero in the battle of Algiers.

Not Massu�s. The 1961 one: spooks against OAS.

But, at that time, he wasn�t called Mr Degueldre. He had another name.

- Mr Paul, for instance? - For instance.

Your Honour, in the name of my client, Mr Degueldre,

I express all due reservations about the consequences of the present hearing.

Let�s not get ahead of ourselves, Counsellor.

Even I don�t know what the consequences will be.

Mr Degueldre, as the regional leader of the SAC...

Oh, I thought I was summoned as CEO of Socotrav.

As leader of the SAC, do you know men called Philippe Lecca,

Jos� Bouvines, and Louis Perrot?

No. Never saw them.

But they�re all card holding members of the SAC.

We have hundreds of members. Do you think I know the lists by heart?

These three were members of the gang led by Simon Pradal,

a. k. a. The Doctor, himself a member of the SAC.

No, that�s untrue: he was discharged after his first indictment.

You must tell us very clearly where you�re heading, Your Honour.

To this: Mr Xavier Marcheron, a member of the SAC,

was killed by the men led by Simon Pradal,

a member... an ex-member of the SAC,

in an estate owned by the company managed by Mr Degueldre,

a leader of the SAC.

This is too much. Are you accusing me of...

This is an arbitrary statement, deliberately biased against my client.

Sit down, Mr Degueldre. I�m only examining the facts.

Here is another one:

before he died, Jos� Bouvines told me

that Marcheron was executed by order of the person behind the Pradal gang,

- a man named Mr Paul. - My name is Lucien.

This is really despicable, Mr Prosecutor.

- In 1961... - Why don�t we go back to my birth?

In 1961, you were involved in Algiers in the Mouvement pour la Communaut�,

the MPC. Its purpose was to fight the OAS, using the same methods:

bombs, kidnappings, limited operations...

Why is that relevant to the case, Your Honour?

Mr Degueldre was based in the Villa Andr�a, 8 rue Fabre, Algiers,

- under the alias "Mr Paul". - I�m not ashamed of it.

I fought the enemies of the Republic when you were wearing short trousers.

I even have the scars to prove it.

Look: here, and here.

Oh, it�s easy for you, left-wingers, to reproach us for fighting the OAS.

- Please... - Listen closely, Fayard,

no little left-wing judge can give me patriotism lessons.

If you�re bugging Degueldre, you�re going to find him.

- Let�s keep calm. - Gentlemen. Gentlemen, please.

We�ve strayed quite far from our case.

Not that far.

Because, at the time, Mr Simon Pradal was also a member of the MPC.

Mr Paul and the Doctor were together at the Rajah Hotel,

the HQ of the MPC, when the OAS bombed it in February 1962.

Now you�re a pain in the arse! You don�t make war with choir boys.

Look. My client is ready to collaborate in all honesty

with his country�s Justice,

but not in front of a judge who�s so obviously biased against him.

You wrongly call upon coincidences.

And you add your political bias to the mix.

You�re not investigating in all equanimity.

Mr Prosecutor, I intend to place a request in legitimate suspicion.

That�s your privilege.

Mr Degueldre, in the meantime, I�ll ask you not to leave town

and to keep yourself available for the court.

- What time is it? - 10 p. m.

- Where did you put my suit? - In the bedroom.

What the hell were you doing?

What about the show? Couldn�t you call?

It�s no use getting dressed.

It�s too late to go to the theatre tonight.

- I�m summoned to the First President�s office. - At 10 p. m.?

They say that the chief of staff of some Ministry

came from Paris especially to tell me off, that�s all.

What about me? Shall I stay here, waiting for you?

I�m really beginning to be fed-up, you know.

But I... I can�t do anything else. Try to understand.

So you�re going on? They hammered your head,

crushed your fingers, and still you go on?

Would you rather have me giving up?

I�m fed-up, do you understand? We�re not married, I�m not your maid.

I�m fed-up with this stupid life,

just because you want to be a righter of wrongs, I�m fed-up and going away.

Look, Michelle, don�t you think you�re a little hard on me?

You may say whatever you want, I don�t care, I�m going.

- Michelle, for God�s sake! - Stop or I call the cops!

I�m not about to forget your attitude.

Erase everything, forget me.

I thought you�d be able to compromise a little.

Living with a woman calls for some effort, you know.

I warn you: if you go now, I won�t be here when you come back.

That�s it, that�s it, split.

- Mr Fayard? - Yes. - Mr President is waiting for you.

Congratulations. They pulled all the stops, didn�t they?

A First Deputy Prosecutor position in Bordeaux is a nice promotion.

It just goes to prove that reasoned protest can lead to a rapid advancement.

They�re afraid to transfer me, so they try to get me the soft way.

The stick-and-carrot.

You need to act fast anyway.

If you let them go faster than you, you�re done for.

What would you do in my shoes?

Precisely, I just can�t put myself in your shoes.

You�re more or less one of a kind, aren�t you?

- It�s useful to you all, isn�t it? - What?

It�s useful to you all.

Anyway, several of us worked to complete your case.

There are still a few holes but it�s starting to come out nicely.

Socotrav gets all of his funding from abroad, especially from Switzerland.

Here are the certificates of the change office.

That would explain why none of the stolen notes are ever found again.

The money passes through the Swiss banks� washing machine

then resurfaces openly in legal businesses.

And what is this?

The share holders of Socotrav, all of them.

No real surprises but a few interesting names anyway.

Here, Deputy Chalabert.

I hope that we won�t ever be forced to tell the public that the St�phanois� robberies

fuelled the slush fund of some political party.

Oh, by the way, do you know who the chairman of the board for Socotrav is?

The secretary of state in charge of town and country planning.

Not bad,eh?

Valentis? You don�t say...

- Sir? The phone, for you. - For me?

Yes. For you.

Would you take it for me? I don�t know whom this is.

- Yes. It's Michelle. - No. I don�t want to talk to her.

Look, he can�t talk to you now, he�ll call you later.

No, no, wait.

I don�t want to talk to you so I won�t call you back.

What are you going to do now?

For starters, I�ll order a fiscal investigation.

Then I�ll call Chalabert and Valentis as main witnesses,

ask that their parliamentary immunity be lifted.

Then I�ll just have to indict Degueldre.

You�d better hurry.

Attorney Lenormand placed his request in legitimate suspicion.

You can be taken off the case any day.

No, first they�ll wait to see how I react

to my interview with the bloke from the Ministry.

No, no, I�ve got some time.

Tomorrow, I get Degueldre.

After that, they can always try to send me to Hazebrouck.

First Deputy Prosecutor in Bordeaux, wasn�t that better?

Do you think I didn�t hesitate?

No, no, don�t get up, don�t get up.

I saw light under your door.

Do you know that you�re the last person awake in this court?

- With you, Mr Prosecutor. - Yes, I never manage to leave on time.

I always find a reason, an excuse.

When I was a young deputy, in Nevers... May I?

When I was a young deputy, my colleagues dubbed me Danaids

because I�d been working for more than two years on the Tonneau (barrel) case.

Witty, wasn�t it?

When a case is completed,

even if you know it by heart, you may re-read it for the twentieth time.

Oh, you know that...

You are a good judge, Fayard.

I don�t come to flatter you privately after scolding you publicly.

You are prone to anger, unsubtle, tactless...

and also selfless, to your honour.

But without any ambition, which is detrimental to you.

The Ministry just called.

The Minister of Justice is disappointed that you haven�t given your answer yet.

He holds you in great esteem, it seems.

- Between the esteem of a soon to be gone Minister and... - Fayard...

Fayard, you�re making life very difficult for us all.

We�ll have to agree to Attorney Lenormand�s request:

you�ll be taken off the case. You�ll be transferred God knows where.

Why are you so stiff-necked?

Mr Prosecutor, I have here enough material to...

Cause an uproar? Yes, maybe...

And after this one you�ll find another, and then still another...

Fayard, we dispense justice,

painstakingly, painfully.

Day after day, we fill a few gaps in but... we can�t change Mankind.

One can always try.

See you tomorrow.

Oh! How cute!

His name is Babouche.

- Are you all right? - Until you arrived, I was.

I had nothing to do, so I went shopping.

Dinner by candlelight, is that OK with you?

Are you sure it�s not because you felt lonely?

- You know... - What?

No, nothing, nothing.

- I went too far, I can�t back off now. - So what?

What I have in my briefcase

can make one of them go down, then they�ll all go down. It will go far.

Aren�t you under the impression that you�ve been used?

Steiner and the others:

didn�t they find it convenient to have a bulldozer to stir all of this shit?

Look: I can�t do much but I�m here.

I think that, for once, I�ll listen to my father.

You�re going to lie down?

No: worse than that.

- We�re going to get married. - You swore.

I�m getting old.

No parking space as usual. You can never find one here anyway.

The hell with it: I�ll park on the bend, here.

Sure. I�ll have your parking ticket cancelled.

Run! Get away, get away!

No, don�t follow me, go that way.

Jean-Marie!

Help! Help!

Don�t be afraid, Ladies and Gentlemen, there will be no speech.

It�s just that, today, the Camus factories, like a Phoenix,

are going to be destroyed in order to be born again.

Today we start wrecking the old buildings

in order to make way for a sleek new factory

that will be built by Socotrav,

of which I don�t have to introduce the CEO.

I�m happy to welcome here our friend Lucien Degueldre.

You�re going to witness a wrecking by implosion,

inspired by the newest Japanese techniques,

but I won�t explain it to you: it�s very boring.

But just before we start,

I�d like to salute here a great friend of mine

who agreed to visit us for the occasion:

Mr Fran�ois Valentis,

the secretary of state in charge of town and country planning.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please follow me...

- Mr Prosecutor. - Yes?

I know who had Judge Fayard murdered and why.

The culprits are even here: would you like me to point them out?

Mr Steiner, control yourself.

I can understand your feelings.

What happened to our friend is awful but...

do you know that he left us with an almost empty case,

and very much less evidence than he claimed to have, unfortunately.

He might have left the evidence to me, Mr Prosecutor.

I closely studied Fayard�s conclusions,

and I think that I can have fifteen to twenty people indicted.

For a start.

Give me the Fayard case to investigate.

If you hold documents, you should have given them directly to the prosecution.

Give me the Fayard case.

The case comes under the Third Chamber, that is to say Mr Davoust.

Send him the documents immediately that you must not keep in your files.

- You�re at fault. - A dozen of us are, Mr Prosecutor.

I sent Xeroxes to several magistrates,

themselves ready to communicate them to other colleagues, if necessary.

- Is this a conspiracy? - Call it whatever you want.

You pushed Fayard.

Do you realize that you�re responsible for his death?

Mr Prosecutor. Give me the Fayard case.

Any real stories or any resemblance

with living or dead persons would be purely coincidental.

Translation: Goupil66 May 2012