DECEPTION
Fanny Maurane, seventy years old,
one of the celebrities of our town of Bergerane,
has just been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
To refresh our memory,
Fanny Maurane burned the study of Doctor Nowalski,
responsible for the seizure of all her property and,
which unfortunately, caused his death as well as that of his wife.
The severity of this verdict is largely due
to the indictment of prosecutor Berthier,
whose success is yet to be praised today.
What is your reaction Mr. Georgelet?
Ms. Maurane didn't take advantage of the mitigating
circumstances that she should have benefited from.
The jurors apparently didn't hear any of the arguments I presented.
On the other hand,
from the moment the prosecutor opened his mouth,
the Assize Court took his side for no apparent reason.
If Berthier had asked that my client be stoned,
the court would have run as one man to fetch the stones!
It's Berthier!!!
Mr. Prosecutor, please!
Another success for you Mr. Prosecutor...
After the life sentence of Patrice Hurvent,
the recidivist rapist of Bergerane, a month ago,
can this new victory influence the continuation of your career?
Are you thinking of moving to a larger judicial district?
Have you thought about how old Fanny Maurane
will be when she gets out of prison?
First of all, the word victory doesn't seem appropriate.
Justice has done its job, and I, for my part,
have only defended the interests of the Crown as always!
Do you take pride in all these successful trials?
Absolutely not,
I repeat, I defend the Republic and its citizens, that's all!
As for Fanny Maurane,
she will theoretically be free at the age of 82,
but I can assure you that she will not spend twelve years behind bars:
appealing, she will be at most eight or nine years.
I have no further comments, thank you ladies and gentlemen, goodbye.
Did you see Fanny Maurane perform?
I saw an old film in black and white. I almost fell asleep.
I wonder if it was not a silent movie!
This prosecutor looks ruthless! Poor old lady, anyway!
In any case he is effective! It's reassuring!
I couldn't sleep when that serial rapist was free.
I'm glad he screwed that bastard!
Shit! Hide...
What's wrong with you? You're scaring me!
It's Guillaume.
- Are you sure it's him? - Certainly!
Yes, we'll go out through the back door and into Avenue Jean Cayrol.
All right...
Don't you want to talk to him anymore?
This guy is very shady, he doesn't care about anything.
I'm starting to get really fed up.
If he continues to harass me like that, I'll tell the police.
Come on, come on.
Okay mademoiselle,
Listen, I noted everything, I'll talk to him and call you back, thank you.
Well done Paul,
you were exceptional.
And yet the jury seemed so convinced by Goergelet's plead,
I confess that he almost made me doubt for a second,
Then you got them back on track,
It was... it was remarkable!
Thank you madam substitute.
And Charente FM would like to have you
tomorrow morning to comment on the verdict.
No, no way.
Once the verdict has been pronounced, our role is over,
we have no more comments to make,
we just leave the stage whether the public applauds or not.
Is your region always this nice?
You say that because you didn't grow up here! Wait for the winter!
Tell me about the winter...
Shouldn't we wait a few years before talking about the weather?
- Come on, kiss me... - Yes...
A secondary section? Don't you think it deserves better than that?
Anyway, at the same time tomorrow, when the edition gets out
CHARENTES FM will have almost everything on the case.
Still falling behind these bastards...
You know Raymond, when your father founded L'Eveil,
the radio sizzled and the TV was growing... We must adapt.
OK, secondary section.
But I want a picture on the front page.
Fanny Maurane?
Forget about Fanny Maurane. She is done!
I want the guy who sent her to jail:
Berthier.
Did you notice that during his trial he hardly looked at the old woman?
The only thing he saw was her crime.
Her crime?
Her stroke of madness, you mean...
Excuse me, but between us, sending a 70-year-old
woman to prison, is not very glorious...
Berthier doesn't care about glory,
this guy is Robespierre.
Only justice interests him...
What's your plan for today?
I don't know... The warrior is at rest!
Is that so? Well, I'll let you rest then!
I may have a better idea...
I'm listening.
Would you like to make love in the grass?
I don't know! If the grass is tall, why not!
Ok, are you afraid of being seen with me?
No, I'm not afraid of anything...
Pretentious!
Welcome to all,
I present you Mr. Philippe Braquecfaure of the company RegioTel,
Specialized in the implementation of regional television.
- Go for it! - Well, hello everyone!
President Vauban asked us about his project...
Yes, Charente FM had a voice and could have a face.
Yes, except that television requires infrastructure, and therefore funding,
Funding that is much juicier than for a website or the radio.
We estimate an initial investment of 4 million euros.
Below that, it wouldn't be feasible.
As you know, we have provided these 4 million euros.
And we have the support of the Regional Council,
which has promised an annual aid of 3 million.
The Regional Council's support is convenient,
because you'll need political support,
and seriousness.
You know, here we know politics.
If you knew the number of regional councilors,
mayors or prefects, who are indebted to us in one way or another,
a regional television campaign is a gift for them!
They will eat from our hand!
- What is it Laurence? I said... - I'm sorry sir, it's your son.
I said you were in a meeting, but he insisted.
Okay, excuse me.
Yes, what's up Guillaume?
What?
No, not all the police officers are assholes!
Did you tell them who you were?
Okay.
Ask to talk to Captain Soriano...
And tell him I'm coming...
Okay.
Thank you, Laurence.
Excuse me, but my son needs me, so I must leave you.
You know how it is with young boys: they fool around,
they want to take the world with their hands,
But a puppy barks at them and they call dad for help...
I'll leave you with Mr. Braquecfaure who
is here to answer all your questions.
Thank you so much.
Excuse me...
It's a bit like Blue Beard huh?
Who kept in his wardrobe the remains of the women he had murdered...
Except that one who almost killed you...
You know me, Mr. Vauban,
You know that I only want to help you.
But this time, your son has crossed the line.
For real or figuratively?
Both.
Drunk driving, not showing his identity card, no insurance, etc.
Refusal to obey, insults and threats to law enforcement officials.
Don't keep going, Soriano, that's enough.
I'm going to give you a little gift for the orphans of the police?
Wait, wait, wait, it's not so simple.
Before putting him in the sobering cell,
he was searched. He had that on him.
Did you know that Guillaume was taking drugs?
He is not the only one!
He had a little too much on him to be able
to invoke he had only his personal dose.
I assure you that Guillaume is incapable to be a dealer.
And his bike, did he buy it?
A good 1900? No, it's me who gave it to him.
And why did you do that, we know that these machines are voracious!
Well, I don't know he's a kid! I give him pocket money!
Is it because he still doesn't have a job?
Listen,
I offered him to run a music program on my radio from 11pm to 2am.
There is no audience, so there is no risk,
It's volunteering... But at least I know where he is.
There, I am a responsible father.
- Can I get him back? - Of course, of course.
Did you bring a swimsuit?
A swimsuit?
Yes, we're going to the edge of the Charente.
Oh no, I don't have a swimsuit.
I must say that when I started working here,
considering the distance from the ocean,
I confess that I got rid of swimsuits, parasols, flip flops!
So, it's time for me to give you some guidance!
Oh, ok!
Hello sir.
Hello miss.
- I'm looking for a swimsuit. - What kind of a swimsuit?
Swimsuit... a simple one!
We have several models here.
That's not quite my style!
We also have other models here if you want.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You're the guy from court, right?
I am the public prosecutor, yes.
We see your picture everywhere now.
It's funny to have you at the shop...
If someone was in trouble...
Someone who's being constantly bothered by another person...
Could they count on you to file a complaint?
I think I'll take this one... do you have my size? It seems a little big.
Won't you answer my question?
Yes, of course, excuse me.
You're talking about harassment?
Something like that, yeah.
Are you concerned?
I didn't say that.
That's right, you didn't say that.
In any case, whether if it concerns you or not,
the problem is the same,
the procedure is to contact a police brigade and then,
if necessary,
the complaint is then transmitted to the public prosecutor.
That means to you? I'm lucky then...
Or to my substitute.
How much do I owe you?
Do you find little Catoun pretty?
Catoun...
The name is cute anyway...
Catoun Garrel,
Miss Pineau des Charentes 2014, 2015!
Two years in a row! Is that legal?
Open an investigation...
No, seriously, how is that possible?
I don't know, maybe there are not enough pretty girls in the area...
You should go for it.
Honestly!
You're right, if you end up last, it would be humiliating...
Look here, it is so beautiful.
Yes, it's very pretty!
I present you the cove of the wet rocks.
Miss.
I used to come here for walks with my grandfather when I was little.
He loved watching the birds catching fish in the rocks there.
Are you coming to take a dip with me?
Yeah, I don't know if I can wear that swimsuit?
You can go naked, we are all alone here.
I warn you then, if I join you, it may not just be to swim...
Don't boast too fast, Berthier, it's cold.
Come on!
Is there a problem?
Do you do it on purpose?
What's wrong with you? It's noon.
At this time, you are usually still in bed.
And who makes me work until late?
Oh, I don't make you do anything, my little Guillaume!
Anyway!
I just allow you to make enough money to get illegal drugs.
If your mother knew that... Anyway, peace to her soul.
Leave her where she is.
You're right, it's better.
I will just point out that thanks to your slave father,
and his intervention,
the police didn't confiscate your bike nor your license.
Maybe I should thank you?
That would be a good start, I think.
If it were your birthday tomorrow, I wouldn't know what
to give you. It's true, I don't know what you like.
I like the theater,
art,
literature... You see? Nothing very original.
So, I'll go for the books!
What is your genre besides the penal code and
the novels where the murderer is guillotined?
You make me sound like a fool, Melanie.
I've nothing against a certain morality as long as it is fiction.
The proof is that I just read a book in which the heroine is a
ruthless hitman who executes men guilty of beating their wives,
on behalf of a rich old woman obsessed by the idea of justice. You see!
Well, I quite like the idea of a woman who devotes her fortune
to punishing what too many men consider normal or minor.
No, you're right,
there are no "minor" offenses.
There are the 'rights' and what's not right.
Anyway... the public prosecutor must also take
into account the extenuating circumstances,
you can't ignore them just like that in light of the law and the 'rights'.
Yes, well it's up to the jurors to appreciate that,
and of the lawyers to convince them.
The extenuating circumstances, as you say,
are... not my responsibility.
You don't believe in crimes of passion?
Yes... but... it has nothing to do with it,
It's not a matter of believing or not,
that's a romantic vision of things.
There is no 'romanticism' chapter in the penal code.
And in your own life, what place does 'romanticism' have?
The one you want to give it.
Ok... really? Everything depends on me...
That's... In a way!
No!
- Are you ok? - Yes... yes, I...
I had a nightmare...
These clouds there... There's a storm coming,
we should go, it's dangerous.
- Are you ok, Paul? - Yes...
Are you sure?
You could have let me get dressed...
I told you, a storm can be deadly.
Once I saw a lightning strike right in front of me, like a fireball...
The fear of lightning...
Come on, let's go.
Stay calm, ma'am, we will help you.
You must understand that you are not alone in this situation.
The police can't do anything if the firefighters are swamped:
we have already received more than 150 calls for flooded cellars,
and it is not our job to mop the floor.
Go home, it's best.
Don't worry, you'll find your girl!
This is the tenth time that you report her disappearance.
And every time, she returns.
Are you sure she's not at the store?
With the way it's raining, she may have
wanted to check everything's fine.
She had to work until noon,
and then her colleague would replace her.
And now it's dark and she hasn't shown up...
It's almost 10 on a Saturday night.
Let your Cinderella live a little!
Her name is not Cinderella, it's Catoun.
Catoun. Ok.
And how does she commute?
By bike.
I'll tell you what I think:
due to the storm, she may have be stuck on a flooded road,
and she is waiting.
What is she waiting for?
For the water to go down, of course!
For the road to be clear again.
She would've called me, she has a 'cordless' phone.
Yes, a 'cordless' phone...
It would be necessary to have a network.
Countless relay antennas have fallen because of the storm!
Come on Marcellin...
Hello, you have reached Paul Berthier...
Please call back later,
or leave me a message after the beep...
Paul, it's me,
I can't reach you on your cell.
Where are you? Pick up!
You were acting strange just now, I'm a bit worried...
The police are also trying to reach you, it's about a disappearance:
Catoun Garrel...
I don't know, I maybe was asleep,
Or my answering machine is broken... I don't know...
That's a nice gift idea...
- Good morning Miss. - My respects, Mr. Prosecutor...
This is the father of little Catoun Garrel?
Yes. He doesn't want to go home.
You are here! It's very important for me to talk to you.
I would be happy to,
but we are expected in Captain Soriano's office...
I won't be long!
In that case, go to the courthouse this afternoon, Room 207, 2nd floor.
No, no, no, right now! Right now!
It's not complicated, it's about my daughter,
I want you to look for her.
I will pay! Just tell me how much.
Goat cheese doesn't make me rich,
but my wife was well off, and she left me everything when she died.
So, how much do you want?
Mr. Garrel, I'm not responsible for missing persons...
But you are very powerful, I saw it in the news
everyone says you are the best.
- Judge, don't leave me like this... - I'm not a judge, I'm a prosecutor.
I don't care what you are,
just help me find my Catoun!
Contact the police. It's their job, and believe me, they do it very well.
Trust them.
I trust you.
Listen, I'm sorry, but it's not me you should trust...
Mr. Prosecutor.
We went to Sportissimo to buy a swimsuit.
And it was Catoun Garrel who served you?
Yes, it was her.
How was she?
'How was she?'
What a funny question. Professional, kind...
Yes... of course...
Did anything lead you to suppose that you were the last person to see her?
Nothing led me to believe I was.
It is likely that other customers made purchases after me
in the store where she worked.
She didn't issue any receipt after purchase.
And why did you say "the shop where she worked"?
I don't understand the meaning of your question?
You could have said "where she works".
Why did you use the past tense?
Yes...
Yes... it's true... there's no reason to think that... well... she's dead...
You'll find her, Captain, that's for sure.
And what did you do after you bought your swimsuit?
Miss Florian took me to the creek rocks...
Wet rocks
This is a particularly treacherous and dangerous corner.
There is a lot of current and swirls that quickly make you tired.
If someone drowned in this place,
we would find their body only miles downstream.
Hey, Jean Mi! Come and see!
It's Catoun! Catoun Garrel!
For God's sake! He found the girl!
So, where is she?
- Who? - Little Catoun!
She... I don't know.
How do you not know that? You just told me...
I found her bike. Over there! I recognize it.
She goes past my house every day! Come see!
And about the bike... Did you find anything?
It looks like the girl hastily abandoned it.
Makes no sense, it was her only space of freedom.
Was she afraid of someone, or something?
Did she run away or drown...? Mystery...
I still asked the river brigade to explore the area.
You did well, captain.
And the neighborhood inquiry? What does it tell you?
Strictly nothing. Anyway...
The only interesting thing is the testimony of Laura Chatelier,
Her colleague at the Sportissimo store.
Her enticing self, is just role play.
And Guillaume Vauban, was she attracted to him?
It's him who runs after her!
Catoun doesn't give a damn about this mommy's son.
What's he like?
Well... that...
But you are good friends, right?
Great friends, but that has nothing to do with this,
We don't tell each other everything.
She's very secretive.
But Guillaume and her... They still went out together, right?
Well... to a movie, pizza from time to time, but nothing else.
It couldn't last, and it didn't last.
She told him it was over?
Yes, more than once.
How did he react?
Badly.
That is to say...? He threatened her?
Yes. Well, that's what she told me.
Threatened her with what?
Death!
No... but it's just a way of speech!
When you are young, death is not like for you old people:
we find it beautiful.
That's him, Guillaume Vauban.
Can you tell me a little about him?
A little cunt, rotten, spoiled,
Arrogant, imbued with himself,
a bad guy.
It's amazing that you've never had to appeal against him,
given the number of cases in which he was involved...
Last year for example,
he beat a taxi driver because he had supposedly
badly spoken to one of his girlfriends.
Catoun Garrel?
No, some Mathilde.
I think... because with Guillaume... the girls!
In any case,
she swore that the taxi had never disrespected her,
He unleashed his rage against the poor guy who ended up in hospital.
Did he file a complaint?
Yes, but the complaint didn't last long,
I could barely touch it, when it got withdrawn...
Why? Can you explain?
His father intervened.
I don't know what he promised to the taxi driver,
and he rushed to withdraw his complaint
and apologize for the inconvenience.
And apart from his father who obviously doesn't do his job,
no one is educating this kid?
His mother committed suicide 12 years ago:
alcohol, depression...
I understand now.
Tell me,
Wasn't Jacques de Groves the representative
of the public prosecutor at the time?
Yes, that is the reason why Guillaume always got away with it.
Why?
De Groves and Vauban are very connected. They rendered services.
De Groves knew when Vauban's competitors
were about to lodge a complaint.
Or when they were being tapped or spied on.
He warned Vauban,
Which gave him plenty of time to defuse
the attack or to refine his defense.
And De Groves,
what did he gain in this case?
He was appointed Attorney General at the Court of Appeal of Poitiers
through a lobbying campaign cleverly orchestrated by Charente FM.
You know so much!
You know? You amaze me!
Yes!
I madly want to kiss you.
Here, or would you prefer to go back to the creek?
Nice house!
- You've never been here? - No...
You will have the chance, more than once. Guillaume is a good customer...
I'll be honest: I really have no time for this!
We will not be long.
Yeah, of course, right.
The last time an officer told me that,
it was just before being in custody for 36 hours.
I'm working on my bike,
there are scattered parts everywhere...
Well go on, I'll hear you out.
Have you ever slept with the girl Garrel?
No. Does it disappoint you?
- She's cute. - Yes... but hey...
But what?
She doesn't want me.
So you have a reason to hate her.
Not really hate her. But I think it's a pity and very stupid,
Where were you, the day she disappeared?
Oh that I remember! I had been stopped by your friends.
That was the night of the 26th... 27th.
But you were released in the morning.
What interests us is what you did afterward.
I wandered on my motorbike through the countryside. To forget it all.
And did we see you during your ride? Do you have witnesses?
I have plenty!
Ok, we are listening.
With pleasure.
A rabbit at the crossroads of Mirandeau.
A pheasant and his hen in the field of Father Joscard.
Three cows in the meadow of Calvary.
Enough! We get that you don't take us seriously?
And yet it is the truth, gentlemen.
But you, the police, are incorrigible.
And if what you are told is not exactly what you had planned,
then you treat people as liars,
and you lock them in concrete cages that stink of piss,
shit and vomit.
This world is a huge misunderstanding.
A little whiskey?
As you can see in these photos,
the traces found seem to indicate that after abandoning her bike,
Catoun went towards the river.
Seem to indicate, yes.
Yes, of course,
you still need to be more precise,
make casts...
But what is curious is that there are no footprints
showing that Catoun returned to her bike.
To return to the city,
she was obliged to go back the same way.
Because the creek rocks, are a dead end.
Very well.
And you conclude...
That she fell into the river.
Or that she threw herself. Or that she was pushed.
But the fluvial brigade hasn't found anything.
Nothing yet, No.
Maybe because... there's nothing to find!
Anyway Langelin, why do you think this girl drowned?
There are many other ways to die, you know!
Who tells you that she's dead, Sir?
Listen, it's been more than ten days since she was last seen.
When a young child disappears,
after 48 hours we unfortunately consider that they are dead.
Catoun Garrel is not a young child.
Anyway, whatever it may be, I thank you Langelin.
I now have an audience to prepare.
Contact me if there is anything new. Thank you.
A question, Mr. Prosecutor.
My superior, Captain Soriano, told me that you went on a picnic,
at the time and day of the probable disappearance of little Garrel,
Near the place where we found her bike.
Yes, indeed.
That day I was beside the cove with Miss Florian.
We were there from noon to about three o'clock.
When Laura, her young colleague,
arrived at Sportissimo to take over from Catoun, she had left a message,
saying that she had closed the store and left the place at one o'clock.
By pedaling without effort,
it takes an hour to reach the place where we discovered her bicycle.
So it was between two o'clock and three o'clock
when Catoun dropped her bike a hundred meters
from where you were and headed for the creek.
And you didn't see anything or hear anything?
Nothing.
We found blood on the grass near the bike.
Hers?
DNA analysis is conclusive.
And obviously, it was not a simple scratch.
Maybe she fell off the bike. Was hit by a car.
I doubt it: her bicycle has no scratches.
It's an old bike, but she takes good care of it!
If she was hurt, could she have gone to ask for your help?
Indeed,
But I told you, I didn't see or hear anything.
The river there is quite noisy.
If you don't believe me, ask the substitute!
Come on, Mr. Prosecutor, don't take it that way!
Of course, I believe you,
Excuse me...
Chief Warrant Officer Langelin, I'm listening...
yes...
What?
Where?
And we're sure of...?
Well. Notify Captain Soriano and the Law Clerk.
Captain.
Mr. Prosecutor.
I will know more after the autopsy, but at first sight,
I doubt that drowning is the cause of death.
What makes you say that, Doctor?
The injury to the head.
A wide and deep wound where she lost a lot of blood
and a lot of cervical matter.
She could have hurt herself when the current carried her off...
her skull could have hit the rocks at the bottom of the river...
I doubt it.
If that had been the case,
I would have found similar wounds in other parts of the body.
But the other wounds seem to be due to a kind of blade.
Only the head has been fractured.
Quite a fracture!
It looks like someone hit her with a heavy rock.
Then this someone would have thrown her into the water,
relying on the current to carry the corpse?
So Catoun Garrel would have been murdered...
All right, Doctor, keep searching and keep me informed.
As for you gentlemen, for the moment you agree that,
I can't proceed based on these simple observations,
As disturbing as they are,
I grant you.
Can you come with me to the Palace, Langelin?
Thank you Doctor. Captain.
Any news on Catoun?
Assassination is only a hypothesis for now.
Dr. Rouve has not yet announced the results.
It's been three days that he fiddles with the girl's body,
and he can't yet say for sure how she died?
The cause of death, is confirmed: fracture
of the skull caused by a large stone.
But, is it an accident or an assault?
So Dr. Rouve still needs more digging.
I will not wait!
On tomorrow morning's edition, the newspaper will choose to feed,
support and defend the assassination thesis.
What's going on here Raymond?
You didn't tell me that the police went to question Guillaume Vauban.
Yes, but what if, in the end,
we discover that Catoun died accidentally?
Felix, look me in the eye: do you think I'm wrong?
You know very well that Guillaume is not a good guy.
Believe in my experience, trust me,
we'll go for it.
Catoun Garrel: murder?
You must condemn this bastard, Mr. Prosecutor!
- Hello, Sir. - My respects, Madam.
I wanted to tell you that
Fanny Maurane killed herself last night in her cell.
And since chance puts you in my way,
would you be kind enough to inform attorney Berthier?
It will save me from having to shake his hand.
Thank you, Madam.
Please, Melanie, please don't let a suicide pass for a capital execution.
The death of Fanny Maurane is certainly tragic,
terrible, but I'm not here as a puppet.
That's not what I said.
You can feel lonely or annihilated,
it happens to a lot of people and I understand.
Fortunately, not everyone suicides for...
For so little? Is that what you were going to say?
You're so harsh, Paul...
I just received this. The report of Catoun's bike.
Well, then...
The footprints of Catoun are next to those of Guillaume Vauban.
But those of the boy are only on the handlebars.
Which suggests that he came face to face with the bike,
And that he sort of barred the road to Catoun Garrel
and grabbed the handlebar to force her to stop...
Yes but it doesn't say what happened after that!
Ask Guillaume!
Yes... yes, of course...
Mélanie Florian, Substitute of the prosecutor...
Yes...
Yes, of course... Soriano...
Okay very well, I'll tell him captain...
You have to go to the police. They found something.
Excuse me but I had to.
Read!
I know you're not capable of killing Catoun! Obviously!
You can't do anything anyway! But this asshole, this asshole Alcorta,
With his shitty journal, thinks the opposite!
He thinks you would be the ideal suspect! Well done!
Anyway, if you need an alibi, I'm obviously here, but...
Why make an alibi dad? I didn't do anything!
Shit!
Dad!
Shut up! Shut up...
A bandanna? Yes? So?
Chief Warrant Officer Langelin picked it up in a bush, at the crime scene.
So you've reached the final conclusion that this is... a crime?
It's up to the examining magistrate to qualify the type of death.
After we have heard the main, and for now, the only suspect.
What does that mean?
Well, Guillaume Vauban,
The discovery of the bandana seems to imply even more.
And it goes well with a motorcycle rider.
But he may not be the only one to wear a bandana on Bergerane!
You will agree again that this is a little far fetched captain?
Hello! Madam, Mr. Prosecutor! You're welcome
Gentlemen, Ladies. I have reserved this table for you.
- Thank you very much. - I'll be back.
I can't stand being scrutinized by all these people wherever I go.
I have the feeling that they'll start kicking
and clapping and chanting "Trial! Trial!".
It's unbearable.
That's understandable, isn't it?
You imagine what people think when they see Guillaume
parading on his bike without any judge asking him to explain himself...
And explain what?
But! She didn't just die!
Maybe she did, after all.
What? What do we know, Melanie?
Did you see anything? Did you hear something?
Me neither.
I don't know anything, absolutely nothing about the way this girl died.
And neither does the police, or at least so little!
There is no well-founded or serious presumption against the Vauban's son.
Just rumors and a bandana,
That's it... A bandana...!
But overall fantasies of people jealous of the position
and fortune of his father.
The crowd wants blood, Melanie! The crowd wants blood!
Are you ok?
Yes I'm ok, it's a small cut. Sorry.
Berthier!
Charvin? What are you doing here?
We are apparently having lunch in the same restaurant.
I came to wash my hands and I find you here.
What happened you?
Just a little cut there, I must have felt dizzy... but it's okay,
help me get up...
Rinse your face.
Thanks Philippe!
Are you sure you will be fine?
You have a lot of pressure right now...
I don't know, maybe I can help you?
I see you coming you know... Is this about Guillaume Vauban?
I don't know, I'm wondering why are stalling a judicial inquiry?
Perhaps because until now,
I was not convinced that Catoun Garrel was a murder victim.
It must be that!
What now?
Now, it's up to you to convince me, isn't it?
You will have your referral on your desk first thing tomorrow.
Tell me...
How many people...
live in Bergerane?
Forty-two thousand according to the last census.
Guillaume Vauban alone against 42 thousand prosecutors... Good luck...
And with you as their leader... Mh?
Yeah...
Guillaume, can you tell me what's the point of us having listeners
if you don't pay attention to the remarks they make you?
I don't give a damn if they don't like the music that I give them!
My job is not to make them love music, but to make them discover it.
Those bastards who have shit in their ears will always hear the same.
No Guillaume, that's not it, your job here is to...
Yes Laurence, what is it?
What do they want?
No, no...
You don't know where Guillaume is, period...
Did you receive a summons from the magistrate?
Maybe.
And you didn't go? You didn't call them to apologize?
The police are here, they came for you!
Guillaume! Guillaume...
Come back!
Guillaume, stop!
We have an arrest order! Don't be a fool!
Guillaume! Stop!
The Bergerane station is not in the way of the future TGV.
The challenge here is to influence the decision
of the Regional Council and we expect to
hear the comments of the Vice President
Pierre Yves Delatre who is declared...
Move!
Before being silenced by force, what I want to tell you all
is that what is being said about me is bullshit: I didn't kill Catoun Garrel,
I am Guillaume Vauban and I did not kill Catoun Garrel, I am innocent,
I am innocent you hear me! You hear me? I'm innocent, shit!!
- Calm down! - Let me go!
Let go of me bastards! I am innocent! Dad,
dad tell them they're wrong!
I am Guillaume Vauban and I did not kill Catoun Garrel, I am innocent,
I am innocent you hear me? I'm innocent shit!!
Calm down!
Let go of me bastards! I am innocent! Dad,
dad tell them they're wrong!
- Calm down! - I am innocent.
Laurence, yes, call Gasco and Joubert's law firm immediately,
And tell Gasco to cancel all her appointments
and to comes as soon as possible.
Thank you.
With the day ahead, I'll never be able to do everything myself!
If I can help you...
Yes. Well,
you know Vauban was taken to Charvin who immediately put him in custody.
Yes, he invoked 'significant and persistent risks of public disorder.
So the debate with the judge about his freedom was fixed today at three pm,
Which doesn't help me because I wanted to spend the
afternoon on the indictment of the Dubreuil file.
The Dubreuil affair? This little and insignificant scam?
Paul, it's ridiculous I do not understand...
Ridiculous? It was you who said it. But it's up to me to decide.
Excuse me.
I would like you to represent me in the Vauban's son's case.
Can I count on you?
- Yes. Of course. - Thank you.
That must be what's called living as a couple, right?
Yes, sorry.
I reassure you there will be more pleasant moments.
And if not, do you have particular indications to give me?
Just one:
since Chavrin leans for provisional detention, we agree.
Mr. Vauban! A pleasure to see you again!
Always a joy to come here.
Mr. De Groves is here, he is waiting for you.
Very good.
Gentlemen, here are your two cakes.
Thank you...
I understand dear friend,
but the law doesn't impose on magistrates
any delay for the issue of a visit permit.
It even happens that the relatives of an inmate
wait several weeks for their first visit.
Is that so?
I wonder why we fought so hard for you to get this
coveted position of attorney general here in Poitiers.
These are favors that we never forget, rest assured.
I'm not worried and in Charente FM we forget nothing.
It is very unfortunate that there some things you may have said could go out,
it would be embarrassing.
But... things? Me?
Yes, you, you, you. 'Things' yeah,
You know, small rumors,
confessions,
indiscretions like what we discuss at the end of the
interview when we believe that the microphone is off.
It is not because the light is off that the microphone is so too.
If you knew the number of judges,
men and women in politics,
trade unionists,
business leaders who got caught in this little game.
You understand, I will not support that Guillaume is
judged for a crime that he obviously didn't commit...
I should have told you the day it happened.
Because you were there too,
you were asleep, You didn't see anything...
Catoun Garrel was standing there... Her T-Shirt torn in her hand,
Trying to soak it in the water...
She had hair in her face...
Blood was flowing from her arm,
her leg...
It was everywhere, She... she was crying...
She went too far, and so she slipped.
And she went overhead, her skull crashed against the stone...
I wanted to jump in the water to save her, Melanie, I swear I wanted to
but instead I stayed there, beside you,
paralyzed, unable to make the slightest move...
I watched this girl drown in front of my eyes without doing anything...
At the moment I didn't understand:
I saw myself as I see those who are aligned in front of me,
In the box of the accused,
for me to punish them.
I know exactly what they did,
what they are accused of
and I know what the punishment is according to the penal code,
But then I don't always know why they did it.
Sometimes you have to go so far,
so deeply to find the truth!
And then, I remembered...
Dorothee, my love, you're going a bit too fast. Remember we drank a bit...
Yeah, not that much, just two or three drinks.
Rather four or five.
But little ones.
Anyway, we'll arrive soon. In ten minutes, we'll be home.
And this little roads, there are no controls, are they?
There may be no controls but a further ahead there are sharp turns...
But that's what's fun! I love turns!
Watch out!
Doro!
Dorothee!
Gentlemen, I would like a word with you.
I had planned to keep you to lunch after the burial,
But I have to go to Paris.
Far be it from me to interfere in the Vauban trial,
but I urge you to be careful.
I know and I admire... Yes, Yes! Your independence of mind
and your dynamism. But I wanted to make sure that you both,
and everyone in your part,
didn't show too much eagerness
- to blame the murder of the young... - Catoun Garrel.
Catoun.
Catoun... It's a very strange name...
And blaming the murder on Guillaume Vauban.
You mean Mr. Attorney General...
- that the charges against this boy... - If you put him on examination,
It's because you had some serious reasons.
Am I right, Judge?
Have you not been influenced by opinions and the rancor of the public
towards a young man who comes from a rich and powerful family,
And therefore inspires jealousy?
This remark also applies to you, my dear Berthier...
I assure you that I had many reasons to open a judicial inquiry.
Judge Charvin took over and...
and in the very interest of young Guillaume,
I had no choice but to order preemptive detention
to shield him from the vengeance of the people.
In truth, the question is not the current situation of young Vauban:
it is his future trial that poses a problem.
A few days ago, at the Chancery, I was approached by an eminent
collaborator from the office of the Minister of Justice,
- Who was alerted by... - Let me guess... Serge Vauban?
Anyway, this eminent collaborator of the
Keeper of the Seals insisted that you and the judge Charvin
The "two regionals of the stage" as he calls you amicably...
Don't let yourselves go on in an excessive zealous.
- All the same, it's murder! - But no, why do you keep saying that.
The autopsy revealed that this girl died of a fractured skull...
caused by a blunt object.
Perhaps, but perhaps is not enough, Sir.
And besides, this instrument was never found!
As far as I know,
young Vauban is in love with Catoun!
And he continues to proclaim his innocence every day...
Frankly, this mess should reach a dead-end...
And the public opinion would accept very well this dead-end,
It would be enough with a provisional release of the detainee...
Yes... Well, we'll See!
He is not very happy but...
his role is almost over... but yours isn't.
From what angle do you intend to approach your indictment?
I have not developed a strategy yet,
but I'm thinking about it.
Are you still well aware of what you represent in
relation to society and in relation to justice?
In any case: the inhabitants of Bergerane
consider you a slayer of iniquities,
a magnificent vigilante.
And you have so magnificently served justice,
That it might be time to think about yourself?
And I was told... that a public prosecutor post
will soon be released in Bordeaux...
Hello, welcome. I'll show you the way.
And I have the pleasure this evening to welcome Doctor Gisèle Gasco,
Who has agreed to come and defend Guillaume Vauban.
- Mr. Gasco, good evening. - Good evening.
What can you tell us about the reenactment
that took place this morning at Roches Creek?
It gave us the opportunity to hear again of Guillaume Vauban innocence.
Poignant protests,
uttered with such honesty that one wonders how normally
constituted individuals can doubt their sincerity!
And another equally interesting element was to
confirm the presence of the prosecutor Paul Berthier
and his substitute Melanie Florian in the immediate
vicinity of the scene of the alleged murder...
Did they provide you with an interesting testimony?
I'll surprise you... no.
They were both there,
they were within fifty meters of the so-called crime scene,
It was a wonderful day and yet they saw nothing, heard nothing!
It's somewhat disconcerting, isn't it?
And what can you conclude?
I can't assume that two judges of the caliber of the
prosecutor and his substitute are hiding the truth,
I take it that nothing happened that day at Rock Creek
And so, my client is innocent of the crime he is accused of.
Thank you Doctor, for coming to Charente FM.
Did you listen to the radio?
Who is this Gisèle Gasco? What is she doing here?
She does her job darling, just her job.
Don't worry, I intend to reply back to them.
Especially since I have the whole population of Bergerane with me.
But she has all the power of Serge Vauban!
The only power Serge Vauban has is his love for his son.
And justice doesn't care about love.
And sometimes, justice doesn't even care about the truth,
And if he is innocent?
If he were, I would lose face.
And justice would also lose face.
So he can't be.
You are very beautiful tonight.
Justice for Catoun!
Please, say out loud your first and last names?
Vauban, Guillaume, Thomas, Etienne.
Profession?
Most people think I don't have one.
Others rank me in the category of public troublemaker.
Silence please!
I remind the accused that humor is out of place here, bad taste humor.
Excuse me, Your Honor.
Your Honor, can I say a word to the court?
In due time.
This is an important statement Your Honor...
That's enough, Vauban.
It's not up to you to decide what to do here.
Excuse me, Your Honor,
I only found out minutes ago what my client wants to reveal to the court.
This statement can fundamentally change the physiognomy of this trial.
Ok. You have the room. But be brief.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Rest assured, I will only take a few seconds.
What I want to say to the court is that you
must not take into account what I have said so far.
In fact, I am guilty of the murder of Catoun Garrel.
I killed her...
What are you talking about Guillaume?
Don't listen to him, he's talking nonsense!
He can't have killed this girl! He didn't kill her!
Silence! Sit down! Silence or I evacuate the room!
Your Honor, I'm requesting a break.
For once, Your Honor, the defense supports the Crown's motion.
Good. The hearing is suspended.
It will resume at four o'clock. Guards, take the accused.
Did you hear?
He confessed! He acknowledged that he killed my daughter! My Catoun!
What's saving that bastard from rotting in jail!
Did you go crazy or what?
I can't believe it!
No, calm down. It was me who convinced Guillaume to admit his guilt.
But what guilt?
He has nothing to do with the death of this bitch. He is innocent!
He said it loud and clear!
Calm down, I know the juries:
I think your son could get the sympathy of the jury.
He could only have convinced them.
I speak to you as a professional, Sir:
it is easier to defend a guilty person than an improbable innocent person.
Thanks to the confession of your son,
I will be able to plead homicide by omission:
Guillaume and Catoun quarrel and they heckle a little too much,
Catoun falls into the water,
her head hits a stone, Guillaume tries to save her!
It's too late...
Guillaume, is that right?
Did this happen?
No...
that's not the truth... it didn't happen like that...
Anguilla, I already said it, your thesis is indefensible.
Shut up! Shut up! Tell me.
Hi.
Are you going to the creek?
Get off!
You're too close to me, you'll make me fall.
The road is very bumpy. If you want, I'll take you.
I'm not leaving my bike, I don't have a lock...
Well, I'll give you mine!
A motorcycle lock, must be enough to protect your bike!
Wait for me.
Well... what are you doing? Get going!
I speak to you as a poet not as Guillaume?
What is it Guillaume?
It's natural, vulgar, rude, obscene, and rough edged,
but it has the merit of being true.
I would have preferred as a poet...
Anyway, it changes nothing.
Catoun, you make me crazy.
I just want to lie there in the grass and make love to you,
and do it over and over again and again...
You're completely crazy! Do you really think I'm going to say yes?
- Oh yeah. - Well, No!
Take away that damn lock, and get lost!
Remove this damn lock!
That's it...
You could say thank you.
Or goodbye.
- Or yes or shit, give me a smile. - Damn you is all I can say.
Why don't you like me? Huh?
You do not like me?
You take me for a brute, is that so?
I'm a virgin, asshole!
It's beautiful...
I could be your first...
Not even in your dreams.
Stay with me, damn it!
Why are you treating me like this? Huh?
Come on, damn it!
Excuse me...
I'm sorry.
Excuse me...
I'm sorry.
Oh damn, you're bleeding
Take this.
Use this.
Come on.
I'll take you to hospital come...
And she left, that's the last time I saw her.
I don't know when or how she fell in the river,
I climbed on my bike, and I left.
Doctor, did you read the autopsy report?
- Yes. - So?
Yes, she was a virgin.
Good Guillaume, now.
So no untimely statements: it's up to me to speak, only me.
Miss, you will tell the court that my son is taking back his confession...
You want that? Do you realize that nobody will believe it?
I don't want it, I demand it.
It's all the same because of their argument
this girl found herself in the river.
But I don't care about this girl. It's my son who counts!
And it's a matter of honor, the Vauban are not murderers.
Very well. You're going to make it difficult for me,
but after all, you're the ones who pay...
It's okay, it'll be okay...
Come in!
Did you want to see me?
I have a problem with Guillaume's confession.
In what sense?
He's lying.
How so?
He is not guilty.
I saw everything, Melanie.
You were there too, but you were sleeping.
I saw little Catoun Garrel fall from the rock.
I saw her head banging and crashing against the rock.
I saw everything.
What are you talking about?
When she was on the overhang on the other side of the river,
she was alone.
Guillaume was not there.
She advanced towards the cliff,
she was covered with blood, she leaned to dip in the water, I don't know,
It's when she slipped, she fell.
And that's where I killed her.
What ...?
I killed her by just looking at her, Melanie.
By staying there, seeing her drown without trying to help her.
It is murder by omission! No assistance to the person in danger.
Article 2236 of the Penal Code punished by
five years in prison and a 75,000 euros fine.
But why didn't you do anything? I saw you, you swim very well.
Three years ago when Dorothee died in the car accident
she was literally drenched in blood.
I was completely covered.
This red liquid, sticky, warm, which stinks of copper.
Hematophobia,
do you know what it is?
Yes, a pathological fear of blood...
It started that day,
in that shattered car.
When I saw all the blood that drowned the woman...
the woman I loved.
With time, and also thanks to you, I thought I was over it.
But phobias are stubborn, Melanie!
And... the blood in Catoun's woke up the fear...
I was stunned, unable to move...
I killed her, Melanie, I killed her.
What are you going to do?
Apart from acquitting Guillaume?
What do you want me to do?
And then De Groves and his friends from the Chancery will be satisfied,
they will have the impression that I went to bed with them to earn points.
Would you like to live in Bordeaux? It's a pretty city you know!
Stop it Paul, shut up.
Oh damn, all this disgusts me. I am so tired.
What now?
Now I'm going to do what I should have done from the beginning...
And then, I know you'll do your part my love.
Come in!
The audience will resume Mr. Prosecutor.
Thank you.
Go!
I'll call the Advocate General for his indictment...
Your Honor, Ladies and gentlemen of the court,
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...
Mrs. Gasco, who is to speak after me on behalf of the defense,
will, with the talent that I know,
present a Guillaume Vauban you perhaps don't know.
A fragile being, a sensitive young man who
obviously has no place in the box of the accused.
As such, the place of Guillaume Vauban in this box, we will evaluate.
But as for the so-called virtues of Guillaume Vauban,
I will allow myself not to agree with you my dear colleague,
Because far from being an angel,
Guillaume Vauban is rather what is called a low bandit.
A white collar criminal as we said in the 60s Your Honor,
At the time when Marcel Carné dropped The Children of Paradise
for cheaters.
And indeed, Guillaume Vauban is a cheater,
A young man who haunts, speeds,
addicted to sex, alcohol, drugs, provocations of all kinds,
and with this rush, he will be able to flee.
For Guillaume Vauban doesn't love himself,
And my instinct may be right,
but even so, Ladies and gentlemen, does that make him a murderer?
During his detention, he never stopped proclaiming his innocence.
Have we believed his allegations of innocence?
No, no, of course not.
And now that he comes to you accusing himself
of the murder of Catoun Garrel,
should we believe in that guilt he suddenly claims?
When he declared himself innocent,
we had excellent objections to oppose him:
his execrable behavior, his innumerable breaches of the law.
Speeding, night fires,
drunkenness on the streets, fights...
And for the fact that Catoun complained numerous
times to various witnesses about fearing him,
being harassed by him, and even being threatened to death,
Not to mention Guillaume's fingerprints on the Catoun's bike,
his bandana found on the scene of the tragedy.
And finally I will refer to this morning's theatrical moment:
Guillaume Vauban accusing himself of the murder of Catoun Garrel!
Silence! Silence or I evacuate the room!
I would like to warn the Advocate General against his hasty conclusions!
Because concerning the so-called confessions of my client...
You will talk when I allow you, Mrs. Gasco.
For now, be kind enough to sit down.
You can continue Mr. Advocate General, please.
Thank you, Your Honor.
I guess easily what Mrs Gasco wants to tell
us about the confession of Guillaume Vauban:
it will remind us quite rightly also that it often happens
that innocents are attributed crimes they didn't commit.
Some, for reasons that may seem obscure,
feel so guilty of having been judged
and therefore by force of things condemned,
for misdeeds they are responsible for:
scams, malice,
indecency sometimes, violence,
treason,
and cowardice.
So unconsciously they look for things they could be accused of.
I know it may sound confusing,
but humans, and believe me, not only the masochist,
have a compelling need of being punished.
And then Mrs. Gasco will conclude that Guillaume Vauban's
confessions are too good to be true,
And that therefore they can't be valid.
I thank my colleague for the harm he is doing
to help me so generously in my speech,
But... You know, dear colleague,
I am only following the very strong advice
that some people, well placed on the side of the Chancery, have given me.
Because it seems that Justice in general,
and me in particular, her humble servant,
Have everything to gain from the acquittal of Guillaume Vauban.
Honors, promotion,
the best is waiting for me if I am docile.
It is no longer my intimate conviction that I am asked to exercise,
but my sense of submission.
- Mr. Attorney General? - Did Berthier ask for a sentence?
You believe the accusations?
Is that why you didn't wait for the pleading?
A prognosis for the verdict, Mr. de Groves?
Mr. de Groves? Mr. Attorney General? Please?
It's De Groves. Call Paris, Place Vendôme,
Direction of Judicial Services.
And make an appointment for tomorrow, with the director.
And you book a ticket for the next TGV to Paris, thank you.
I'll drown you, Paul Berthier!
And I must confess that I was not far from asking
the jurors their indulgence for the young Guillaume.
Yes, but... by gaining the respect of some of my peers,
Wasn't I going to lose that of the
population of Bergerane at the same time?
And especially their trust?
Mr Advocate General, I remind you of your duty to reserve...
I come to my conclusion, Your Honor.
I don't know about juries and magistrates
who will sit with them at the time of the deliberations,
But on the other hand, I know what I see in the eyes of the public,
in the eyes of the citizens of this city:
Enough! They say to me,
Enough complacency,
Enough laxity! They shout at me...
Rest assured, inhabitants of Bergerane,
You will not leave disappointed, you who have come to see justice.
This justice is perhaps the only beautiful and great idea which remains
to us while everything perverts,
decays, putrefies.
This justice which, continues to be, must imperatively keep its face,
Even if, and above all, paradoxically, is unfair.
It is in the name of this Justice, and only in her name, Your Honor,
Ladies and gentlemen of the court, Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
And on behalf of the inhabitants of Bergerane which I know are on my side,
That I ask you to declare Guillaume Vauban
guilty of murdering Catoun Garrel,
And consequently to sentence him to life imprisonment...
Mélanie Florian asked to be heard as a witness.
After only 50 minutes of deliberation,
Guillaume Vauban was acquitted.
Paul Berthier was removed from office by the Superior Council of Magistracy.