Claire

Claire is a main character in the French thriller series Lupin. She is portrayed by Ludivine Sagnier as an adult, and by Ludmilla Makowski as a teenager.

Claire is Assane's estranged wife and the mother of his child, whom she is raising alone while working at a hospital. She is repeatedly caught between her continuing love for Assane and her fears that his unstable lifestyle and illegal actions may be endangering their son.

1995
Claire meets Assane for the first time when he is sent to the orphanage she lives in shortly after his father's death. Witnessing Claire being harassed by a group of boys, Assane manages to drive them off and sits down next to her. Claire is slightly irritated by his intervention, and tells Assane that there are two kinds of men — barbarians and knights — and that both bother her equally. Assane, in her view, is a knight. Sensing that she may have been too harsh, she also tells him that knows about Babakar's fate and is sorry. She introduces herself and, becoming more playful, tells Assane to make himself comfortable next to her.



Claire begins spending more and more time with Assane, arousing jealousy in the group of boys that had been pestering her earlier. One day, while the two are reading together in a park, the boys approach and begin teasing them. Although Claire urges him to "play dead," Assane attacks the boys and gets injured. Afterwards, Claire cleans his wounds in the bathroom, although she chides him for his decision to fight. Assane does not pay this any attention, and instead tries to kiss her. Claire is amused and tells Assane that she does not need a boyfriend. Assane claims that she simply doesn't know that he is the man of her life; Claire admits that he technically is, since he is the only boy whose company she has come to enjoy. Assane shows Claire that he has managed to steal a lighter from their bullies, and Claire is impressed and charmed.

Claire later asks Assane if he ever gets bored of re-reading the same Arsène Lupin stories over and over. Assane says that he does not, since he learns something new each time. He also reveals that he has thought about Claire's notion of the two kinds of men, and claims that he is a third type — the gentleman, who does not care about anything, except what matters, and who plays the game but respects the rules. Claire is touched by this statement, and kisses Assane, telling him that she feels good when she is with him, and that she enjoys the idea that they will always be there for one another.

After Assane moves to the Andrésy school, he continues to see Claire, who has been studying the violin at a music conservatory. One day, shortly before an important audition, Claire discovers to her dismay that her violin has been broken by another student. She visits the shop of Lorenzo Calligari, a local luthier, and asks him how much it will cost to repair her instrument. Lorenzo tells her that it will cost her less to buy a new one; however, upon finding a violin that she likes, Claire finds that its price is beyond her range.



Assane, who has been following Claire, suddenly walks up to the counter and points out that the two can rent it, but Lorenzo refuses to do business with Assane. When questioned incredulously by both teenagers as to why, Lorenzo responds that he can decide with whom he does business. Assane calls Lorenzo a racist as Claire attempts to drag him out of the shop.

Without Claire’s knowledge, Assane decides to commit his first major theft by stealing the most expensive violin from Lorenzo's stock, with the intention of returning it after she has passed her audition. Claire is stunned when Assane presents her with the instrument, and questions how he managed to get it. Assane asserts that he did not steal it, but borrowed it, and asks her to play for him. Claire refuses, but happily tells Assane to come to her audition. With Assane and Benjamin in attendance, Claire’s audition proceeds successfully until Lorenzo enters with two police officers and points out both her and Assane. Claire drops her bow in horror when she sees them. She and Assane are escorted out of the building by the officers.

2006


Claire is now in a romantic relationship with Assane, but his behavior is driving her to despair. In a session with her therapist, Claire discusses her distress at the way Assane fails to honor their commitments and is not open about what he does on his own. Claire's therapist reminds her that she does not owe Assane anything; unbeknownst to the therapist, Claire has just discovered that she is pregnant with Assane's child. As her session concludes, Claire resolves to instigate an honest discussion with Assane about their future as a couple. Afterwards, she calls Assane and asks him to choose a quiet place for them to have dinner together.

Claire is upset when Assane ignores her wishes and instead brings her to one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Noticing her evident anxiety, Assane asks what the matter is. Claire nervously tells Assane about her pregnancy. To her immense relief, Assane's reaction is entirely positive. He begins laughing and telling the entire restaurant that he is going to be a father, and that Claire will be the greatest mother in the world. However, Assane sees Agathe Van Der Meulen, an elderly woman he had scammed earlier that day, in the restaurant, and quickly leaves with Claire in tow.

As they walk home, Claire tells Assane that the baby is due on December 11th. Assane is stunned, noting that this is Maurice Leblanc's birthday. After making a series of joking name suggestions inclusing "Maurice" and "Assane Junior," Assane promises that he will commit to their relationship and do everything in his power to love, protect and care for their child. He makes one final suggestion for the baby's name: Raoul.

Part 1
At some point between Raoul's birth and the present day, Claire and Assane separate, with Claire getting custody of Raoul while Assane receives visiting rights. In October 2020, Assane meets Claire at a café in order to give her an alimony payment. He tells her that he has gotten a job; Claire responds by assuming that it is another form of Assane's secret businesses which will not last long. Assane promises to change, but having heard this many times before, Claire is skeptical. She gives him back the money, telling him to buy a present for Raoul with it. When Claire leaves the café, she finds that Assane has secretly slipped it back into her jacket pocket.

Following the Louvre heist, Assane arrives at Claire's apartment to pick Raoul up for a trip into Paris. He tells her that nothing special had happened the previous night. Noticing that Assane is having problems with his shoulder, Claire fixes them for him. While walking in the center of Paris with Raoul, Assane gives him the Arsène Lupin book that Babakar had given to him two decades earlier. Some time afterward, Claire observes that Raoul is engrossed in the Lupin stories, and is pleased to see that he has greatly reduced the time he spends playing video games.



While Assane is interrogating Gabriel Dumont, Claire calls him from the hospital at which she works, asking him if he has thought of something to do with Raoul for his birthday. Assane pauses briefly and mentions that he is planning a surprise. Claire becomes disheartened, pointing out that Assane had said the same thing the previous year and had not done anything. Assane maintains that he will fulfill his promises this time, and tells her that he is busy with paperwork. Claire implores him to be honest with her, reminding him that they are still friends even if they are no longer romantically involved. Assane, however, continues to avoid revealing his activities. He arrives late for his next visit, to the annoyance of Claire, who tells him that she is going out for drinks with friends. During the visit, Raoul informs Assane that Claire is actually on a date with a doctor.

On Raoul's birthday, Assane makes it to Claire's apartment after escaping Léonard and gives Raoul a top hat and a cape, telling him that they will be going out for a trip. Claire kisses Raoul goodbye and wishes the two a good day. Surprised, Assane asks if Claire is not going with them. Claire replies that she has plans, and Assane sarcastically asks if she will be having a doctor's appointment. Claire is embarrassed that Raoul had told Assane about the doctor, but insists that she has nothing to hide. Ultimately, she agrees to go with Assane and Raoul, but laments the fact that he rarely leaves her any choice in such matters.



When they are on board a train to Le Havre, Assane tells Claire and Raoul that they will be visiting the nearby scenic town of Étretat, the home of Maurice Leblanc and the setting of The Hollow Needle, one of the Arsène Lupin stories, and also the location of a Lupin-themed festival in Leblanc's honor. Claire tells Raoul that she remembers parts of The Hollow Needle, which she had read at Assane's behest when they began their relationship. Assane begins quoting the book, and Claire manages to complete his phrases.

Later, Claire looks at her phone, and Assane asks her if the doctor has contacted her. Claire says that his name is Marc, and that the details of her relationship with him are none of Assane's business. To Claire's chagrin, Raoul chimes in, revealing that the relationship is proceeding slowly. Afterwards, Claire decides to take a selfie with Assane and Raoul. However, when Assane examines the image, he sees Léonard in the background. He stands in the aisle and begins to loudly sing "Happy Birthday" to Raoul in order to alert Léonard that he is aware of his presence. Unaware of the potential peril, Claire sings along. Assane tells her and Raoul that he is going to get drinks, and leaves.

When Assane returns, Claire notices that he has exerted himself, and has arrived without drinks. She asks him what happened; Assane claims that he got into an altercation with another Arsène Lupin fan who had said that The Mysterious Traveler was the best of the stories. Claire is horrified that he has been fighting, and is suspicious of the veracity of his story, but does not press him for details. Later, as the train nears its destination, Léonard emerges from the storage closet that Assane had locked him in, discreetly shows Assane that he has a firearm, and sits down next to Raoul, asking him if he likes Arsène Lupin. Raoul replies that he does, and that they are going to the festival in Étretat. Léonard tells him that he has good taste. Claire is extremely disturbed by Léonard's presence, and asks Assane if the two know each other; Assane says that they do not, but Léonard claims that they do.



As the train pulls into the station at Le Havre, Claire notices Assane signalling for her to get off, and although still worried about the situation, she leaves with Raoul. Shortly afterwards, Assane catches up and the three continue on to Étretat. As they walk through the center of the town, where many people are, like Raoul, wearing capes and hats, Claire asks about Lupin's ultimate fate in the books. Raoul tells her that nobody knows, since he was never caught. Claire playfully teases Assane, asserting that had he existed in real life, Lupin would either have been caught or known when to stop.

Raoul tells his parents that he will be heading down to the beach in order to explore the town's famous cliffs. After he has wandered off, Claire questions Assane about Léonard. When Assane fails to respond, Claire becomes upset. Assane tells her that he needs to settle a matter that concerns both his father and Raoul. Claire asks what Assane's father, of whom Assane has told her next to nothing, has to do with the current situation, and tells him that she needs more from him than evasiveness. Assane earnestly assures her that when everything is finished, he will reveal all, and entreats her to give him one more chance to prove himself.

Staring ruefully at the beach while considering Assane's words, Claire notices that Raoul is nowhere to be seen. Immediately becoming fearful for her son's safety, she rushes onto the beach and begins searching for him, as Assane does the same on the town's promenade. Claire attempts calling Raoul's cell phone, but receives an answering machine message. She frantically asks other tourists if they have seen him, but due to the similar way in which everybody is dressed, nobody is able to help.

Part 2


Having reached the end of the beach and found no sign of Raoul, Claire overhears Youssef Guédira asking Assane if he is looking for a child dressed in an Arsène Lupin costume. She runs towards them and tells Guédira that they are trying to find their son. Guédira informs Assane and Claire that he saw a boy fitting Raoul's description struggling with a man in the parking lot. Growing increasingly worried, the two parents dash towards the parking lot, followed by Guédira, who tells them that Raoul and his kidnapper have already left in a grey BMW. Assane demands to know what the person who took their son looked like; Guédira says that he was a skinny, bearded Black man wearing a beige raincoat.

To her horror, Claire immediately realizes that Guédira is describing Léonard. She becomes hysterical and blames Assane for the kidnapping. Assane does not respond to Claire’s frenzied distress, instead breaking an antenna off of one parked cars and using it to open another car. Aghast, Claire demands that he leave the car alone, and asserts that she will call the police. Assane urges Claire to calm down, telling her not to involve the police and entreating her to trust that he will bring Raoul back safely. Claire angrily tells Assane that she stopped trusting him long ago. Guédira gets into the car with Assane, offering to help him chase down Léonard, and the two drive off together. A pair of local police officers eventually respond to Claire’s plea for assistance, but she is upset by the lack of urgency in their paperwork-heavy approach and stalks off, asserting that she will find Raoul herself.



Unsure of what to do, however, Claire boards the train back to Paris and passes the ride in agonized worry for Raoul. Wiping tears from her eyes, she notices the newspaper being read by the woman across from her, which includes an article about Fabienne Bériot’s death and her fight against Hubert Pellegrini, alongside a photograph of “Salvator813” appearing on The Other Edition. To Claire’s alarm, she instantly recognizes that behind the ageing makeup, the gray beard and the wig, “Salvator” is actually Assane. Upon reading the story she discovers that Assane, too, is involved in a battle with Hubert. Her anguish increases as she considers the implications that Assane’s actions have for Raoul’s fate.

Upon reaching Paris, Claire seeks out Benjamin and encounters him as he is leaving his shop. Benjamin smiles when he sees Claire but becomes concerned when he registers her expression of despair. The two walk together, and Claire questions Benjamin as to what he knows about the events described in the article. Attempting to cover for Assane, Benjamin asks Claire why he should be aware of any of it; Claire responds that he has always known everything about Assane’s criminal life. When she reveals that Raoul has been kidnapped, and that she believes Hubert to be responsible, Benjamin is shocked. He tries to convince Claire that Assane will bring Raoul back to her, but Claire is doubtful and begs him to help her find her child.

The following day, Claire is able to gain a personal appointment with Hubert. When the two are sitting in front of one another, Claire earnestly tells Hubert that he does not intimidate her, since taking her son was the worst thing he could have done to her. Hubert expresses mild amusement at these proclamations. Claire makes an offer to exchange the remaining diamonds from the necklace, currently in Benjamin’s possession, for Raoul’s safe return, but Hubert refuses and demands Assane instead. Terrified for Raoul’s sake and desperate to have him home, Claire agrees to let several of Hubert's men, led by Pascal Oblet, be posted at her apartment.



That night, Claire stares out of her window as a large van drives up to her apartment building. She is overjoyed when Raoul and Assane get out of it, but her happiness fades as she remembers her deal with Hubert. The intercom sounds, and Claire slowly picks it up in order to let Assane and Raoul into the building. Pascal notices her hesitation. Claire gives him a pleading look and asks him for a moment alone with her son; Pascal relents. When Claire hears Raoul calling to her on the stairs, she happily leaves the apartment, shutting the door behind her. Once safely outside, she dashes towards Raoul, embracing him tightly and covering him with kisses of joy and relief. However, when she sees Assane in the stairwell behind them, she grows worried and urgently tells him to run.

Assane is confused by Claire’s instructions and the visible change in her mood. When Claire begs him to leave for a second time, Assane realizes that he is in serious danger and dashes away, managing to hide in the ceiling before Pascal and the other officers burst out of Claire’s apartment and begin a fruitless search for him. Claire pulls Raoul back into the apartment, shuts the door and asks him breathlessly whether he was hurt. Raoul tells Claire that he is fine, and praises Assane’s conduct in rescuing him from Hubert and Dumont.

Upon hearing this, Claire becomes distraught again, telling Raoul in an agitated voice that Assane is a dangerous man who uses others. Now upset, Raoul asserts that this is not true. Claire frantically shouts that everything that happened to Raoul was Assane’s fault, and that she does not want him coming near either of them in the future. She grabs Raoul and holds him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder and accusing Assane of never having kept any of his promises.



In the aftermath of the kidnapping, Claire is able to make good on her promise to cuts Assane off from her and Raoul, and begins a more serious attempt to start her relationship with Marc, whom she introduces to Benjamin the following week. While in Benjamin’s shop, Claire asks him how Assane is doing; Benjamin assures her that he is fine and tells her not to worry. After she leaves, Marc returns and buys an antique bracelet as a present for her. When Marc gives her the bracelet, Claire is very happy with it and posts a photograph of it onto her Instagram account.

Unbeknownst to Claire, Assane has been courting Juliette Pellegrini in attempt to turn her against her father. When Juliette tells Assane that she has been monitoring Claire’s social media accounts and wants the bracelet, Assane is forced to break into Claire’s apartment in the middle of the night order to steal it from her. At the same time, he places a small beeper underneath her bed. Some time afterward, Claire receives the bracelet in the mail.

After Hubert gives the police the name “Assane Diop,” Guédira brings Claire in for a questioning session with Sofia Belkacem. Claire claims not to know where Assane lives, which both Belkacem and Guédira find implausible. Guédira sternly demands to know why men were stationed around Claire’s apartment when he brought Raoul home. Rather shaken by the vehement interrogation, Claire denies knowing what Guédira is talking about. She tells Guédira and Belkacem that she has little more to say, and declares that she will not be seeing Assane any more, as she does not want him near her son. Later, Claire watches in dismay as Assane's supposed murder of Léonard headlines the nightly news.

On the night of the Pellegrinis’ concert at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Claire is helping Raoul study history, when the two suddenly hear a loud, repetitive high-pitched sound in their apartment. Raoul tells Claire that he thinks it is coming from her room; Claire, exasperated, comments that it must have something to do with Assane. She manages to locate the source of the noise under her bed, pulling out an electronic watch and giving it to Raoul, who turns the noise off, at which point the watch reveals the message “Raoul’s bridge, 10:00.” Raoul is confused, asking what this means. With a degree of apprehension, Claire explains that it is the bridge where she and Assane chose Raoul’s name in 2006. Raoul is thrilled by the prospect of their meeting with Assane, but Claire tells him that it is out of the question. Raoul, however, declares that he will go on his own, and Claire reluctantly agrees to accompany him.



The two reach the bridge at exactly 10:00 and look for Assane. In the distance, they hear the sound of an electric motor; turning in its direction, they see Assane sailing upstream, beaming and waving. Assane parks the boat and climbs onto the bridge, striding towards his family with his arms outstretched. Raoul runs to Assane and embraces him. Although initially slightly more hesitant, Claire does the same. Hugging Claire and Raoul with a wistful expression on his face, Assane tells them that he is glad that both of them came to see him. Claire asks Assane if he has finished with the Pellegrinis; Assane assures her that he has, but that Claire was right about his causing them problems. He asserts that he has to leave for their safety.

Claire begins to cry, and tells Assane that the only thing that matters is that she and Raoul don’t lose him. Assane promises that he will return, and that although they will not be seeing him for the time being, he will be watching over them. Claire begs Assane to take care of himself; Assane grins at her and tells her to do the same. Hearing approaching police sirens in the background, Assane assures his family that he loves them, and runs off the bridge. Claire and Raoul turn towards the police sirens; when they turn back, Assane is nowhere to be seen. Claire is startled when a line of police officers sprints past her in a disorderly manner. Clinging fearfully to Raoul, she watches as the officers chase after Assane.

Personality


Claire is a warm, devoted and emotionally aware person who leads a quiet life, far removed from the quest for vengeance that Assane has embarked upon. Although Claire's inability to stop loving Assane often brings her worry and frustration, she tries her best to maintain a positive attitude whether or not he is around, and largely focuses on raising their son.

Claire seems to have spent much of her youth in an orphanage. In her teen years, she was disappointed in her experiences with the boys around her, even stating that they were either like barbarians (who harassed her and invaded her space) or knights (who treated her as though she was a damsel in distress). However, Claire was not one to meet aggression in kind, with her typical response to the behavior of the “barbarians” in particular being, in her words, to “play dead” until they left her alone. She later tried to dissuade Assane from fighting them, although he ignored her counsel.

During this time as well, Claire was a keen violinist. Although she had significant talent, she was seemingly forced to stop playing after Lorenzo Calligari implicated her in Assane’s theft of an expensive instrument. Currently, Claire works in a hospital, having demonstrated skills as a healer in her younger years when she helped Assane with his injuries after his fight with their bullies.



Claire has a strong intuition when it comes to Assane, easily figuring out when he is lying to her. She often pleaded with him for more information on what he was doing on his own, promising that he could tell her anything, but was continuously pained by his evasive responses. Claire’s natural instinct is to remain far away from danger and conflict, and being forced to engage with the cloak-and-dagger, violent world of Assane's criminal life was a deeply distressing experience for her, particularly since nefarious actors were easily able to take advantage of her pacifistic nature.

In general, though, Claire’s patience, tolerance and open-mindedness enable her to keep Assane in her life while retaining (to an degree, at least) her peace of mind. She reproaches Assane for his transgressions, particularly when it comes to his lying and his struggles with being a consistent presence in Raoul’s life, but she is always ready to forgive him should he pledge to do better, even if she has all but lost hope in his ability follow through on his promises.

Assane
Ever since their first meeting in 1995, the lengthy relationship between Claire and Assane has been characterized by both romantic and platonic love as well as a significant degree of volatility and hardship. Claire is, however, unable to stay upset with Assane for long, and the two inevitably wind up reconciling.



Assane's lifestyle as a gentleman thief conflicts with Claire's contentment with a more normal existence. In 2006, Claire viewed being in love with Assane as something of an affliction, telling her therapist that Assane was made for her whether she liked it or not. However, she was eager to continue giving him chances to change his ways, particularly after she became the mother of his child.

Even after their separation, Claire often worried about Assane, and was hurt by his tendency to conceal his personal life from her, but all the same she was accepting of his faults so long as he made sure to remain present for Raoul. However, when Raoul was kidnapped, Claire was upset enough to betray Assane to his enemies. Although she eventually rethought this decision and helped him escape, Claire decided to remove him from her life. However, when Claire met Assane on "Raoul's Bridge" a couple of weeks later, she told him that she couldn't bear the thought of losing him for good.

Raoul


Claire has custody of Raoul, and is thus responsible for the overwhelming majority of his upbringing. She is an affectionate mother, frequently giving Raoul hugs and kisses and referring to him as her “cheri” (“darling”). Claire’s approach to parenting is typically gentle, although she can occasionally become more strict, particularly when she is worried. More than anything else, Claire wants to keep Raoul safe.

Claire's worst nightmares came true when Raoul was kidnapped. Devastated and having lost what remained of her trust in Assane, she decided to try to recover him herself. This led to her making poor choices that ultimately led to Assane’s near-capture by the murderous Pascal Oblet. Although Claire was initially adamant that Assane never contact Raoul again, she eventually relented to her son's wishes and accompanied him to "Raoul's Bridge."

Benjamin


As Benjamin is Assane’s best friend, he and Claire have become close as well. When Claire found out about Assane’s appearance on The Other Edition following Raoul’s kidnapping, she immediately went to Benjamin and begged him to help her recover Raoul. Claire later brought one of the diamonds from the Queen’s Necklace to Hubert Pellegrini, seemingly having taken it from Benjamin’s shop. The extent to which Benjamin approved of Claire’s decision to go to Hubert is unknown.

Marc
Claire and Marc started seeing one another in the fall of 2020. Although their relationship seems to have initially been fairly casual, it became more serious following Raoul’s kidnapping, at which point Claire was trying to detach herself from Assane. The present state of their relationship is unclear; he was not in Claire’s apartment when Assane’s beeper began to go off.

Appearances

 * Part One


 * Chapter 1
 * Chapter 2
 * Chapter 3
 * Chapter 4
 * Chapter 5


 * Part Two


 * Chapter 6
 * Chapter 7
 * Chapter 8
 * Chapter 9
 * Chapter 10

Quotes
"In life, you have two categories of guys: the barbarians and the knights. The barbarians don't care. They invade your space without asking. Then you have the knights (a bit like you, by the way) who think that women are little fragile things who need protecting. But you know what? They both annoy me equally."

- Claire discusses her views on aggressive men during her first meeting with Assane

"I just like the idea that we’ll always be there for one another."

- Claire after her first kiss with Assane

"I don't even know if I'm in love with him because it's been so long...We laugh, we've been through everything together, he's my best friend, but I don't think he's the man of my life..."

- Claire reveals her conflicted emotions about her relationship with Assane

"You know that you can talk to me, right? We don't sleep together anymore but that doesn't mean I'm not your friend..."

- Claire calls Assane during his interrogation of Dumont

"All that matters is that we don't lose you, Assane!"

- Claire during her reconcilition with Assane on "Raoul's bridge"

Trivia

 * Ludivine Sagnier suggested that Claire be an osteopath.
 * Although Ludivine Sagnier and Ludmilla Makowski never formally met, Sagnier reported being shocked when she saw how much Makowski looked and sounded like her.
 * Claire's instagram username is @claire_de_lunette.
 * In the tie-in novel Lupin: Échec à la reine, Claire is shown to have a talent for codebreaking.
 * When Claire opens her nightstand drawer while searching for Assane's beeper, a copy of the book Le Couloir: Une Infirmière en Pays de Sida by Françoise Baranne can be seen.
 * Ludivine Sagnier is one of four actors who have appeared in every episode of the series so far. The other three are Omar Sy, Soufiane Guerrab and Hervé Pierre.