Sofia Belkacem

Sofia Belkacem is a major character in the French thriller series Lupin. She is portrayed by Shirine Boutella.

A lieutenant in the police department, Belkacem often works together with Romain Laugier and Youssef Guédira.

Part 1
Belkacem is one of the police officers assigned to the case of the Pellegrinis’ necklace. She is involved when Juliette Pellegrini calls for assistance after receiving Assane’s anonymous note, posing as a jogger. Later, Juliette mocks Belkacem for taking notes while Laugier is attempting to question her.



While Belkacem treats Youssef Guédira with respect, she still thinks that his theory about the connection between the crimes they are investigating and the Arsène Lupin stories is frivolous nonsense. She later participates in the search for Dumont after his kidnapping; although initially reluctant to believe Guédira’s notion that he is still in City Hall, she and Laugier choose to follow his hunch and find that he is right.

Along with Laugier and Guédira, Belkacem presents Dumont with the idea that his kidnapper and the Louvre thief are the same person, pointing out that he had overseen the original case of the necklace theft in 1995. Dumont allows them to begin gathering evidence, but after several facial reconstructions are made, he claims that none of them look like his kidnapper and tells them that the two cases are unconnected. Belkacem, like Guédira, suspects that Dumont is lying, but unlike him is not willing to follow through on the lead, particularly not after Dumont removes him from the case entirely.

On December 11, Guédira tells Belkacem that he will not be coming into the office, claiming to be sick. Belkacem remarks to Laugier that Guédira always looks sick. She and Laugier want to investigate Léonard after he is found on the Le Havre train with one of Marie-Antoinette’s diamonds, but before they get a chance the Le Havre police release him after discovering convincing evidence that he has been framed.

Part 2
Shortly after being stopped by Dumont from going to Normandy in order to question Léonard, Belkacem receives a phone call from Guédira, who reveals that he is in the town of Bourneville with “Paul Sernine” and needs assistance. Belkacem is stunned; when Assane comes within earshot, Guédira, who has claimed that he is talking to his wife, awkwardly tells Belkacem that he loves her and hangs up. Although confused, Belkacem leaves Paris and drives into the countryside, tracking the location of Guédira’s phone.

Belkacem arrives at the abandoned mansion just as, unbeknownst to her, Guédira and Raoul are leaving in another car. Assane still has Guédira’s phone, and as such Belkacem is able to track him down. She finds him wailing in distress in front of a burning car and claiming that his son is inside; convinced that he is simply performing another elaborate stunt, Belkacem decides to arrest him.

The following morning, Belkacem calls several Gendarmerie officers in for assistance. When they examine the remains of the burned car, they find nothing but a can in the boot. Additionally, there is no sign of Guédira. Sitting in a squad car with Assane and a Gendarmerie officer named Hector, Belkacem is irritated by Assane’s constant pleas for information as to what she found in the car. Finally becoming fed up, she shows him the can in a plastic bag, yelling that it was the only thing that was there. Assane is immensely relieved that Raoul is still alive, and smiles to himself.

Belkacem orders Hector to stop at a service station to fill up the car’s tank. Assane, having fully regained his composure, tells Belkacem that he needs to use the bathroom. Belkacem orders him to hold it in, but Assane tells her that he is unable to do so. Belkacem frustratedly agrees to let Assane enter the bathroom, telling Hector to keep a close eye on him. While paying, Belkacem becomes aware that Assane is in the process of stealing a car and shooting one of her own tires. After finding Hector handcuffed to a pipe in the bathroom, she tries to chase after Assane, but to no avail.

Some time later, Belkacem and Laugier interrogate Hubert Pellegrini after his wife reports his crimes. Initially, Hubert is somewhat uncooperative with regards to their questioning, but when the conversation turns to “Paul Sernine,” he immediately supplies them with the name “Assane Diop.” Hubert is again not forthcoming when Laugier and Belkacem ask him about Léonard. Soon afterward, he receives a phone call from Albert Fontan, the Minister of the Interior. Later, Laugier reveals to Belkacem and Guédira that Fontan forced him to let Hubert go.

Now knowing Assane’s name, Guédira and Belkacem bring Claire in for questioning. Claire claims that she does not know where Assane lives, which both Belkacem and Guédira struggle to believe. They ask Claire about the undercover policemen encountered by Guédira and Raoul outside of her apartment; Claire denies having any knowledge of who they were, and states that she is just happy to have her son back.

Shortly afterward, however, Belkacem is given Assane’s address by Pascal. After arriving, they find Léonard’s lifeless body on the ground, with Assane nowhere to be found. Belkacem tells Laugier that she had managed to arrest Assane in Normandy, but that he had escaped. In the aftermath of Léonard’s murder, Belkacem compliments Guédira, pointing out that he had been right about everything. Guédira, however, is unhappy, telling Belkacem that Arsène Lupin never kills and that this has compromised the logical integrity of his theory. Belkacem reminds Guédira that Assane had Lupin memorabilia all over his apartment, and that Lupin is a fictional character, while Assane is a real person.

Dumont sends Belkacem and Laugier to Benjamin’s shop to collect evidence. While there, Belkacem finds a card with the address of a storage unit. When the two officers arrive on the scene and manage to enter the unit, they find that Assane and Benjamin have already fled through a secret underground passage. Belkacem and Laugier decide to follow them, and find themselves confronted with dark alleys filled with piles of bones, which unnerve Belkacem. Eventually, the two encounter a tour group and realize that they are in the Catacombs of Paris. Laugier calls for assistance and the site is cleared of tourists, but the police are unable to catch Assane and Benjamin.

The next day, Belkacem receives news that Léonard’s murderer wore a size 42 shoe, far too small for Assane at 46. Immediately afterward, Guédira shows Belkacem and Laugier footage of Assane’s questioning of Dumont. Conversing in the interrogation room, the three examine the evidence and conclude that Dumont has engaged in conspiracy and corruption. They agree to attend the Pellegrinis’ charity concert in order to arrest their commissioner.

Laugier, Belkacem and Guédira gain access to the Théâtre du Châtelet after demonstrating that they are police officers. Once inside, Laugier keeps a close eye on Dumont. When they see him leaving in the middle of the performance, they follow him discreetly, eventually encountering him pointing a gun at Assane. The three point their guns at Dumont, and Laugier places him in handcuffs. Belkacem orders Assane to stay where he is, but Guédira encourages her to let him go.

After the concert is finished, Belkacem and Guédira grin at each other as they watch Hubert and Dumont being driven to the police station under arrest.

Personality and relationships


Of the three officers on the team trying to track down the Queen's Necklace, Belkacem is quickest to jump into action in any given situation, complementing Laugier’s emphasis on rules, protocol and procedure, as well as Guédira’s more theoretical focus. However, her tendency to focus on whatever is going on immediately around her, rather than the bigger picture of what she is investigating, led her to struggle in her pursuit of Assane, as she was often unable to anticipate his movements.

Belkacem tends to be blunt, confrontational and somewhat quick to anger. She has a fairly aggressive questioning style, seen clearly in her behavior during both the interrogations of Hubert and Claire. Possibly due to the fact that she had Assane in custody in Normandy before he eventually escaped, Belkacem was highly determined to arrest him, even after she was aware of his innocence regarding Léonard’s murder. However, when they cornered Assane at the Pelleginis’ concert, Guédira managed to convince her to let him go.

As a lieutenant, Belkacem ranks below Laugier (a captain) but above Guédira (a detective). As such, she has good working relationships with both of them, and occasionally mediates between them. Belkacem and Guédira appear to be particularly close; she was the one whom he texted to mention that he was sick on the day of the Arsène Lupin festival in Étretat, and he eventually called her to ask for assistance after he found Assane there. As Guédira had claimed to Assane that he was talking to his wife, he was forced to tell Belkacem that he loved her, which she found odd. Although Belkacem initially disdained Guédira’s ideas about the Arsène Lupin connection, she eventually admitted that he was right about everything,

Appearances

 * Part One


 * Chapter 2
 * Chapter 3
 * Chapter 4
 * Chapter 5


 * Part Two


 * Chapter 6
 * Chapter 7
 * Chapter 9
 * Chapter 10

Quotes
"What’s it going to be next? D’Artagnan or the three little pigs?"

- Belkacem comments on Guedira's theories

Etymology
Sofia is a name of Greek origin meaning “wisdom.” A common French variant of this name is Sophie.

Belkacem is a surname most commonly found in Algeria and Morocco.

Trivia

 * Belkacem is ranked as the 9th most popular character in the series on the online tracking platform TV Time.