Original subtitles

Based on real events.

The Evening News

Good evening, the main news this Sunday is political,

with PM Jacques Chirac's interview,

an eagerly awaited interview,

after recent events

concerning education and health reforms,

nationhood, political cohabitation,

and the attacks on it.

We shall begin with higher education

and the protests,

as they were the first subjects Mr Chirac mentioned.

He resumed the reasons

for the Devaquet bill.

Let's hear him.

Selection is a false problem. Anyone can study

with a basic qualification, the baccalaureate,

simply because everyone has the right to enter a system

that is there to distribute knowledge.

- And study their chosen subject? - Yes.

Within the framework of acquiring knowledge.

It's one bill too many.

Riot cops, your kids are students too!

Withdraw the bill

Love isn't all we have, oh no

Yesterday evening,

demonstrators clashed with the police.

30 students injured, three seriously.

50 policemen injured,

6 of them hospitalized.

Chirac, you bastard, we'll get you!

School and university students,

concerned and generous,

abused and overwhelmed...

are a front for professionals in destabilization.

Leftists and anarchists

of every background and nationality...

As the latest arrests show,

they're revanchists.

OUR BROTHERS

Saturday, December 6th, 1986

The Paris forensic science laboratory

I'm Ousmane.

I'll watch over you

until those who love you

come to fetch you.

The thing I love

led me to misfortune

I haven't given birth, but I have a child

The thing I love

led me to misfortune

- Internal Affairs. - Inspector.

Chief Szatmar.

He's over there.

He's totally drunk.

0.18 blood alcohol level.

He tried to stop a bar fight in Pantin.

He says he shouted, "Police!" before shooting a kid.

A North African trying to break it up.

He wasn't on duty,

he was off his turf...

He says the gun just went off.

We have the kid's brother.

He was in the bar with friends and saw nothing.

Ok.

I couldn't take statements until you arrived.

The father's here.

- He is? - Over there.

He just knows something happened.

He doesn't know his son's dead.

The kid's name was Abdel.

The family lives in La Courneuve.

Hello, sir.

I'm Inspector Mattei.

Your son was injured in a fight.

Do you understand me?

I understood, yes.

An ambulance took him.

What's wrong?

Don't worry, he's in good hands.

But you can't see him.

Why not?

Let us do our job.

There's an enquiry to clear things up.

Your son is over age.

When do I see him?

What?

This is your eldest?

Yes, he's my son.

Your sons must toe the line.

If they fight

on the streets, it causes a disturbance.

We'll let him go this time.

We're counting on you.

Knock some sense into them.

You may go.

Do up your jacket.

Let's go.

You've reached Malik Oussekine.

Leave me a message.

Hello?

Malik?

You're not there. Never mind.

I had some good news for you.

Business is good here.

The cash is rolling in.

I'll stop by tomorrow when I get back to Paris.

Hello?

Sarah, the hospital confirmed the transplant.

Great.

December 29th. Our brother's done with dialysis.

Did you tell him?

No, I couldn't reach him. D'you know where he is?

He must have gone out.

Stop playing the dad.

Gotta go. I'm unpacking.

Two determined groups faced off,

taking their munitions from a nearby construction site,

injuring two officers.

After an hour-long clash with stones and stakes,

the police charged...

What's the Devaquet bill? A huge creator of social division.

Ok, here we go!

Hurry it up!

Grab your gear.

Hurry it up here!

Everyone out!

Move it!

Come on, move!

Leave peacefully.

Devaquet resign!

I saw nothing. I was inside.

It happened on the street.

He tried to part two Yugos.

Yugos?

What's this about Yugoslavs?

Did you get your brother in trouble?

He mustn't go to jail.

I didn't get him into anything!

It was a fight. He didn't know them.

He just tried to break it up.

It's very serious.

We didn't do anything, I swear.

Why didn't you go in the ambulance? You could have.

They didn't let me.

Did he speak to you?

I can't remember.

What?

It's a blank. I saw him, he was outside.

I forget if he spoke to me.

Why did the police take you in?

Listen to me!

Why? I didn't do anything. No one did.

No one did anything?

What's this about a disturbance?

A disturbance...

The cops are lying, Dad!

They're lying?

Why would they?

They're lying. I know they're lying.

Cigarette?

- Cigarette? - No, thank you.

Go home!

Hey, this isn't Chile!

This is the wrong body.

I want the one from 4 am.

Ok.

Fetch it. I'll see to this.

How's your father?

They tried to operate but...

It was no use.

Malik Oussekine,

student,

living in the 17th district.

The Interior Ministry and the Prefect think he's Lebanese,

close to the Christian Phalangists.

Autopsy this morning,

this afternoon at the latest.

Take the keys and go to his place.

We're good.

Why was a Lebanese guy

demonstrating in the Latin Quarter with a Bible?

You,

you have a name.

But you don't have one.

I'll give you one.

Ahmed.

That was my late father's name.

Who?

Selma, are you ok?

What?

You heard that on the radio?

But, Selma...

Selma, calm down, please.

A Lebanese Phalangist isn't Malik.

No, don't call my mother!

No, I'll call Malik and call you back, ok?

I'll call you back.

What's going on?

Malik.

What about him?

I don't know.

You've reached Malik Oussekine. Leave me a message.

Malik, it's Sarah. Call me.

Who was it?

Our neighbour in Meudon.

What did she want?

She heard on the radio that Malik got injured or something.

What?

She mentioned a Lebanese Phalangist

injured in the Latin Quarter.

So she says.

A Lebanese Phalangist?

It can't be your brother.

No.

He's probably just at a friend's.

I'm off.

Working today?

No, not this Saturday.

I'll see you later?

Malik, it's Sarah.

Call me, please.

Hello?

Malik?

You're not there. Never mind.

I had some good news for you.

Business is good here.

The cash is rolling in.

I'll stop by tomorrow when I get back to Paris.

Your next dialysis sessions

Place St Michel, at midnight,

demonstrators set fire to barricades against the riot police

blocking entry to the bridge.

Upturned cars on fire and violent clashes

orchestrated by rowdy elements

that caused a simple confrontation to degenerate.

On the scene, a student, a real one

angrily reacts.

The incidents underway near St Michel...

Hello.

...weren't organized by student groups.

Are you Mr Benyahia?

I'm Catherine,

a friend of your son's.

- Which son? - Abdel.

How is he?

- Have a seat. - Thanks.

I was at the bar when it happened.

What happened?

The fight.

He wanted to part them.

Then he got shot.

I dunno, I was inside.

I just heard the shot.

They wouldn't let me out.

After, when I made my statement,

they said I was French, but only half

as I was always with Arabs.

- Who did? - The cops.

- Why did they say that? - I dunno.

Yes.

This evening? Yes.

I'm working.

Yes. See you later.

What's your name?

- Catherine, sir. - Catherine?

Start it up.

Wait.

Start it up.

Accelerate!

Accelerate!

Stop!

- It's not working. - It isn't.

No.

It's not working.

Climb on.

The President and the PM

left the EU summit earlier than planned.

Prime Minister Chirac met with his cabinet this afternoon.

The PM got back to Paris at 5:30 pm.

He first met with Mr Balladur and Mr Pasqua...

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels

but do not have love

I am only a resounding gong

or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers,

and understand all mysteries

and all God's knowledge,

and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains,

but have not love,

I am nothing."

Malik?

Got anything for me?

It's Oussekine's diary.

It was at his place.

He's French.

Born in Versailles.

The information was wrong.

He's neither Lebanese, nor a Phalangist.

His parents are Algerian. They came here in the 30s.

His father was a worker.

He died 20 years ago.

Malik Oussekine is no terrorist.

What about the Bible?

No idea.

Not yet anyhow.

However,

I found something interesting.

He was on dialysis.

There we go then.

I'll tell the judge he had health problems.

I don't want men who did their job to be wrongly accused.

The autopsy will confirm it.

For the Pantin blunder, call the family.

No.

Wait.

We say nothing for now.

Things are bad enough for us with the rue M. Le Prince incident.

Tell the chief to wait.

Nothing must leak.

I'll tell you when to advise the family.

Student unions are organizing a march this afternoon.

The media are on the alert.

The police are exhausted.

Daniel, call the family when I say so and not before.

All right.

Coffee?

Yes.

I went to rue M. Le Prince.

The scene wasn't guarded.

The hallway was a mess.

The cleaner was mopping the floor.

Hello, Max, it's Sarah.

Yes, I'm fine, thanks.

Tell me, are you with Malik or have you seen him?

No, we haven't heard from him.

I don't know where he is.

Ok.

If you see him, tell him to call us.

I'm calling about my brother.

He may have been injured in the Latin Quarter last night.

I have no other information.

All right.

Malik Oussekine.

Alain Devaquet tendered his resignation this morning.

The Prime Minister may not accept it.

Even so, his fate is starting to resemble that of Alain Savary,

who also resigned, in 1984, shortly after his bill was withdrawn.

The demonstrations against Devaquet...

Malik?

No, it's Mohamed. Where's Malik?

I called the police and his friends. No one knows.

The police?

Why? What's going on?

Mum, ignore what they say on the radio.

It may not be Malik. Sarah and I are looking for him.

He must be at a friend's place.

Let me.

Talk to her.

He isn't dead. Who said that?

- Just stay at home. - He isn't dead!

Mum...

No.

Mum...

If it was Malik, the police would have said.

That's how they do things.

So stay at home and don't move.

Don't listen to the neighbours.

I'll call you back.

She wants us to go to the morgue.

This is weird. Where can he be?

Devaquet, if only you knew

Your reform, your reform

Devaquet, if only you knew

Where you can put your reform

No! No!

No hesitation!

Long live the revolution!

Devaquet, resign!

Daniel...

The Oussekines are at the forensic lab and won't move.

- Go there. - I'll see to it.

Mr and Mrs Oussekine?

Yes.

Daniel Mattei, IGS,

the Internal Affairs division.

Your brother died last night.

Please accept my condolences.

We want to see the body.

An investigation is underway...

What investigation?

I know my rights. We won't move.

Got that?

We want to see him now!

I'll go and ask.

Did you hear me?

We won't move!

Mr Oussekine,

was he politically active?

No.

He's not at university, he's in a private school.

We're not Lebanese but French.

We presumed you were because we found a Bible on him.

What Bible?

What do you mean? We're Muslim.

No, sir...

Why the glass?

Open this door!

Sir, calm down.

Why?

What did they do to you?

What happened to him?

We don't know yet.

- You don't know? - Not yet.

- He wasn't demonstrating. - An enquiry's underway.

I'm getting a lawyer!

I'm getting a lawyer! We'll sue you!

A young student aged 22, Malik Oussekine,

died last night on rue M. Le Prince.

The protest movement

of France's students has taken a tragic turn.

'68 and '86,

years unlike each other,

now share death in common.

Several witnesses to the incident

talk of police brutality.

The Latin Quarter's hellish night

by Nicolas Jacobs, Patrick Voie and François Cornet.

The police motorized brigade,

a motorcycle unit charged with clearing streets,

is in the spotlight.

On each bike,

which can weave through traffic

and easily mount sidewalks,

two men, one driving, the other armed with a baton.

DEATH

Mr Pandraud, Minister for Public Security, said,

"If I had a son on dialysis, he wouldn't play the fool at night."

Those words provoked today's march.

In the meantime,

they have caused uproar in higher education and on the left.

Even in the majority, certain ministers...

The cops!

Sunday, December 7th, 1986

The mood could be less tense.

Last night's tragic incident has marked us all.

But the government has held out a hand.

The students must accept it.

Yet our party's 10th anniversary is a celebration.

Events and circumstances

have decided differently.

And it would not have been right or natural today

to celebrate.

The right to demonstrate

is guaranteed

by the constitution.

But there is no freedom without responsibility.

And when you take the one of urging people to march,

you must take the necessary measures to guarantee self-discipline

and avoid all excess.

With Alain Devaquet's resignation...

Can I help you?

Internal Affairs.

I want to see the chief.

The chief is at the staff children's Christmas party.

He can't be disturbed.

Where is he?

On the third floor.

Let's discuss the students' representatives

within the committees...

Yeah...

Can you tell the chief

some Internal Affairs guy is on his way up?

This one isn't open.

Can I have one?

I'm the chief.

Come with me.

My unit isn't involved.

Ok? On any level.

There are witnesses.

Rue M. Le Prince.

They saw the motorcycle unit.

We're giving presents to kids here.

My men are with their families.

I won't let you spoil that.

You should go.

I'm ok.

Good.

Are you injured?

- Are you ok? - It got risky.

At the march.

Nothing serious.

Thanks for calling Mum.

She was touched.

I'll have to go to Meudon tonight.

To help her.

For the funeral.

Join me there, if you want.

I don't really dare.

After what happened.

It wasn't you.

She knows you had nothing to do with it.

It's good if you're there.

It makes me uneasy, Sarah.

Tell her...

I share her grief and...

I'm sorry.

As you want.

Thank you.

Hello.

Hello, sir.

Can I help you?

I have this.

It's an order awaiting collection.

- I'll fetch it. - Thank you.

- Hello? - Sarah?

Know what our brother was up to?

He hung out in churches and even had Nazareth sandals.

And a Bible too!

Why don't you say anything?

He just said he wanted to convert to fit in.

- You knew? - Yes, you heard me.

He wanted to be Catholic.

Repeat that.

Don't make such a fuss, ok. Not now.

He wanted to be like other French people.

What are you doing?

You want trouble?

We can't just stand by. The police tell us nothing.

We need calm.

We'll soon know.

We won't know anything!

You won't know.

Don't break the law. You don't know the police.

It's what they want.

Be smart.

Go home now.

Your mother's waiting. She's worried.

I won't stop.

Not until I know where Abdel is.

Sir...

You mustn't worry.

He's doing no harm.

Where's he going?

I dunno.

"I dunno."

No one knows.

Are you my son's girlfriend?

Is that nice?

Yes.

Hello.

- What'll you have? - Coffee, just a coffee.

A coffee and a beer.

Ok.

- There was a fight Friday? - Yes, a real fight.

My son got injured.

How is he?

I don't know.

You know the hospital? Where is it?

I don't know which one.

The ambulance took him after the cop shot him.

- A cop? - Yes.

A plainclothes inspector, blind drunk.

His colleagues fetched his car the next day

as he was too drunk to drive.

Who d'you...

How d'you... Who said he's an inspector?

He did, he kept on talking. He didn't even pay for his drinks.

- You didn't know? - I did.

Do you want sugar?

Inspector, it's Chief Szatmar from Pantin.

I don't want to pressure you,

but it'll get worse if we do nothing.

The family is still waiting for news of their son.

Here's the father's number again. It's 48 05 34 20.

Call him.

...deeply shocked by young Malik's death.

Today, the young man's parents filed a complaint

and the prosecutor has launched an enquiry for aggravated assault

and manslaughter.

This afternoon, President Mitterrand, and Elie Wiesel,

Nobel Peace Prize '86, went to see the family

to express his solidarity.

How did you find them? Was it hard?

I'll simply say this...

I wished to bring this grieving family

the sympathy of the French nation,

and express my personal sorrow

at this great tragedy.

The President also wrote

to the three students injured in...

I had a call from the bikers' chief. Only one will testify.

The other two refuse.

I also had a call from the chief in Pantin.

He asks what we're doing.

What are we doing?

We've waited too long. The family will know we lied.

That you lied, Daniel.

Mattei...

Don't worry.

We'll say it was a mistake.

That you misunderstood.

That's all. It happens.

Don't call the family yourself.

Go via the Pantin chief.

Go on, call him right now.

Dad!

- What? - You have to come.

What is it?

Your brother?

Yes.

Get up, Dad.

I'm ok, I'm ok...

I'm ok...

Give me your hand.

The Oussekine family lawyers dispute the prosecutor's communiqué,

and Mr Kiejmann will file a complaint tomorrow

to obtain an enquiry for aggravated assault

and manslaughter.

It's possible that the health problems

of the young Oussekine meant that he died

when a healthier young man would have survived the blows.

But, in relation to the law and his death, that isn't the issue.

The true issue

is if Oussekine would have died without the blows,

which isn't the case.

National Vocation Service

Mr Oussekine, Following our meeting on December 5th,

I confirm our second meeting on Tuesday, December 9th.

Father Desjobert

Would your brother have persevered? I don't know.

It was an idea...

but he wanted to fit in too.

We aren't sectarian here.

The Church isn't a machine of integration.

Coming to know Christ is something else entirely.

I met him.

And I tried to understand

this urge for a radical life and a change

that he wished to live out and experience.

But I didn't...

I didn't try to control everything.

I wanted him to have the best life.

What I didn't have.

I indeed believe that you did all you could.

In any case, he came here

and that is part of his life.

I lent him

my personal copy.

He was due to return it today,

at our meeting.

You may stay here as long as you like.

But I must tell you that your brother wanted to convert

and become a priest.

That will remain a mystery for us both.

You used to be a sports instructor in Aubervilliers.

What led you to join the police?

I needed to make a better living.

Why the motorcycle unit?

I found a magazine in the metro.

Police Bikers.

There was a poem in it.

"I like motorcycles

because they're the arrow and, at the same time, the bow."

Who wrote that?

Paul Claudel.

Paul Claudel, right...

So that poem made you want to be a motorcycle cop?

Yes, but it was my first time with that unit.

Before, I mostly escorted ministers.

You know it's strictly forbidden for a rider to dismount?

No. I didn't know that.

But it's written in the handbook, in black and white.

The thing is, I haven't read it all. It's very long.

You prefer poetry?

Tell me what happened on the night of December 5th to 6th.

There were a lot of people about, demonstrators, rioters...

People were running everywhere. And seemed suspicious.

What makes them suspicious for you? Their attitude?

The way they dress?

The way they look?

We just do our job, sir.

There were several of you rue M. Le Prince.

Why did you enter number 20?

We didn't enter that building.

We pursued rioters before turning back

to join our unit.

How long did that take?

I don't remember. A couple of minutes.

A couple of minutes?

But your superior says you were gone 10 minutes.

Is he sure of that?

It seemed shorter to me.

What will your parents think on hearing you're suspended?

Orders. I simply followed orders.

They fire us up all day, 12 hours straight, then send us

to clear the streets.

What do you expect to happen?

Thank you. Goodbye.

Shame

They killed Malik

For our brother

The young man wanted to come in,

so I opened the door for him

and then I closed it on the riot police.

Unfortunately, they had

inserted their batons in the gap and so I couldn't close the door.

They forced their way in?

I tried to resist to keep them out.

But the three of them were strong, so there was no talking to them.

What happened then?

They rushed at...

I think his name was Malik...

and they...

started beating him with batons and kicking him.

I also received

a few blows to my head.

Wednesday, December 10th, 1986

Malik and Abdel.

Abdel and Malik.

May God forgive those who tore you from your families.

He was a student like any other.

His name was Malik.

And that is one of the realities of today's France.

From primary school to university,

children of all backgrounds

work together, recognize and love each other.

For them, there is no question of excluding Paul or Jacques,

no more than Yasmina or Malik.

Murdered by the police

All I can say in reaction

is that your words reek of opportunism.

That's all I can say...

That said...

it's true

that the death of this young student

has touched us all.

But you don't have a monopoly on sympathy

or generosity.

Not at all.

With blood on your hands, you resign

We'll never forget you

It is clear that, since the start of these events,

the police authorities have been very discreet

about all the incidents and accidents that occurred.

Remember the strange blackout

around the death of Abdel Benyahia,

the young man shot by an officer during a fight

in Pantin last Friday.

We have found an interview with Abdel Benyahia filmed

a year ago during an internship

as a receptionist at the Great Hall at La Villette.

We learn, we learn a lot of things.

Besides, the name of our internship...

is "We want to find out more".

That's a pretty apt name.

We really want to find out more.

Has it changed you?

I've changed.

- On what level? - Psychologically.

- Meaning? - Talking to people.

Before, I didn't really talk to people.

Now, I love it. I really love talking to people.

There are people you can talk to and others you can't talk to.

But we have to talk to them. That's our job.

The police held back the news for close on 48 hours

to avoid worsening things after Malik's death.

However, the two cases had nothing in common.

The officer who shot Abdel Benyahia was sentenced to 7 years in jail.

He was released after 4 years.

Two officers of the motorcycle unit were put on trial

for the aggravated assault and manslaughter of Malik Oussekine.

They received suspended sentences of 5 and 2 years.

They never spent a single day in prison.

The motorcycle unit was disbanded shortly after.

It was reactivated in December 2018 during the yellow vests' crisis

as the Motorized Violent Action Repression Unit.

Never again...

Pasqua, you only speak with a baton

Shoot, I'll cover you Abdel has fallen

Malik will never know

Silence while they kill

150 injured, 6 seriously. You needed a death too, murderers!