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 Youssef Guédira. In Part 3, she is promoted to captain.

Part 1
Belkacem is one of the police officers assigned to the case of the Queen's 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 Captain 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 participates in the search for Commissioner Dumont after his kidnapping; although initially reluctant to believe Guédira’s notion that he is still at the town 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 Guédira from the case entirely.

On December 11th, Guédira tells Belkacem that he will not be coming into the station, claiming to be sick. Belkacem remarks to Laugier that Guédira always looks sick. She and Laugier want to investigate Léonard after they learn that he was found on the Le Havre train with one of the diamonds from the necklace, but before they get a chance, Dumont tells them that the Le Havre police have released Léonard after discovering convincing evidence that he has been framed.

Part 2


Shortly after being stopped by Dumont from going to Normandy, 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 where Léonard was holding Raoul hostage just as, unbeknownst to her, Guédira and Raoul are leaving in Assane's stolen car. Assane still has Guédira’s phone, and as such Belkacem is able to locate him. She finds him wailing in distress in front of Léonard's burning BMW and claiming that his son is inside; convinced that he is simply performing another elaborate stunt, Belkacem arrests him immediately.



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 trunk. 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 burned trunk. Finally becoming fed up, she holds up a plastic bag containing the can, yelling that it was the only thing that was there. Assane is immensely relieved, as this proves to him that Raoul is still alive.

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. A frustrated Belkacem agrees to let Assane enter the bathroom, ordering 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 he successfully escapes.

Some time later, Belkacem and Laugier interrogate Hubert Pellegrini after his wife reports his crimes of fraud and framing Babakar. Initially, Hubert is somewhat uncooperative with regards to their questioning, but when the conversation turns to the identity of “Paul Sernine,” he immediately supplies them with Assane's full name. Hubert is again not forthcoming when Laugier and Belkacem ask him about Léonard. At this point, Hubert receives a phone call from Albert Fontan, the minister of the interior, which forces the police to let him 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 men 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 acquires Assane’s address via an anonymous phone call placed by Pascal Oblet. Upon arriving, they discover Léonard’s lifeless body on the ground, as well as Assane's large collection of Lupin memorabilia. Assane himself is 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, explaining that Arsène Lupin never kills and that this has compromised the logic of his theory.

Dumont sends Belkacem and Laugier to Benjamin Ferel’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 all visitors are cleared from the site, 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, too small for Assane, whose is size 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 illegal 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 he sees Dumont leaving in the middle of the performance, he and the other two officers follow him discreetly, eventually encountering him pointing a gun at Assane. The three ambush 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 Dumont and Hubert--the latter of whom Guédira has arrested based on a recorded confession sent to him by Assane--being driven to the police station.

Part 3
Sometime in 2021, Belkacem is promoted from lieutenant to captain. One afternoon towards the end of the year, she is summoned to the Maison Everlin, a boutique located at the Place Vendôme, by its proprietor, Monsieur Nicolas Imbert. Once Belkacem and her squad arrive, Imbert reads them a letter from Assane, in which he states his intention to rob the boutique of its expensive black pearl at 10:00 pm on December 3rd. Belkacem instructs Imbert not to inform anybody that Assane has resurfaced in Paris.



Back at the police station, Belkacem admits to Guédira that Assane has returned. After Guédira pesters her for more information, Belkacem gives him Assane’s letter. Guédira informs Belkacem that much of it has been copied word-for-word from an Arsène Lupin story. Unbeknownst to Belkacem, Assane has also sent the details of his upcoming heist to Fleur Bélanger, a journalist at ‘’The Objector.’’ When she returns to the boutique on the evening of the 3rd, she finds that a large crowd of Assane’s fans have gathered outside it. A news station is also on the scene, covering the proceedings. Despite this setback, Belkacem is determined to catch Assane.

After verifying that the black pearl is being safely guarded, Belkacem monitors the security camera footage alongside Imbert and her team. As the clock strikes ten without the burglary having occurred, she breathes a sigh of relief. However, seconds later, the boutique’s alarm systems begin to sound. Horrified and enraged, Belkacem dashes into the room where the pearl had been kept, and begins ripping the face-masks off of the BRI officers posted near it, hoping that one of them is Assane. Soon afterward, a frenzied Imbert draws her attention to a rogue officer who has sprinted up the stairs to his office and has locked the door behind him.

Imbert, Belkacem and the rest of her team are unable to get inside the office, as Assane has changed the security codes. However, after Assane leaves through the back door, he is caught and arrested by a BRI officer named Felix. Assane is driven off by Felix, but the police soon lose track of the vehicle. Soon afterwards, a group of snipers spots him attempting to traverse the rooftops. During a phone conversation with Guédira, who is also on the scene albeit in an unofficial capacity, Belkacem admits that Assane escaped.

Guédira encounters a group of people who claim to have seen Assane fall to his death from a nearby rooftop. He summons Belkacem to the scene and informs her that Assane’s body was taken to the Lariboisière hospital by paramedics. Belkacem and Guédira head to the hospital, where Guédira tells Belkacem that he does not believe that Assane is dead. Belkacem is annoyed by this, reminding Guédira that twenty-seven people witnessed Assane's fall.

Belkacem and Guédira are brought to the hospital’s morgue by Dr. Daniel Martinez, the mortician. There, they encounter another doctor (unbeknownst to them, Assane’s accomplice Philippe Courbet) standing over Assane’s body, which is covered up to the chest by a sheet. Belkacem inquires as to whether the doctors will perform an autopsy. Philippe looks at her in an incredulous manner and tells her that since Assane’s internal organs were destroyed by the fall, an autopsy is clearly not needed. Guédira’s remains unconvinced that Assane is dead, and asks Martinez to check his heartbeat with a stethoscope. After Martinez confirms that there is no heartbeat, he and Belkacem leave the morgue.

The following morning, Belkacem hands Guédira the day’s newspaper, pointing out that Assane’s death has already made the front page. She tells Guédira that she will attend Assane’s funeral at Père-Lachaise cemetary the following Thursday, as she suspects that his accomplices will be there. She also reveals that she did not find the black pearl amongst Assane’s belongings at the hospital. At the funeral, Guédira demands that the casket be opened, to verify that Assane is inside. Belkacem is irritated by this and orders him to stop, but he pays her no attention. When the casket is opened, Assane’s body is found inside.



Still unable to locate the pearl, Belkacem pays a visit to Benjamin’s shop and questions him about where he was on the night of December 3rd. Benjamin feigns offense that Belkacem would be interrogating someone who recently lost his best friend; Belkacem tells him to calm down. A creaking noise from the upper floor alerts Belkacem to the fact that they are not alone, and her interest is instantly piqued. However, the noise turns out to be Fabienne Bériot’s dog J’accuse, whom Assane has adopted. Belkacem ultimately leaves without any valuable new information.

Some time later, Belkacem is horrified when she sees a copy of The Objector whose front page features a story on Assane possibly having faked his death, with much of the evidence being provided by “a source close to the investigation.” She corners Guédira in his office and demands an explanation, informing him that leaking such information constitutes an obstruction of justice. Guédira, however, denies being the anonymous source. The spat between Guédira and Belkacem is interrupted when their colleague Clémentine Vidal hands them a letter implicating Benjamin in a theft of a bracelet that is set to take place during a gala at the Château de Thoiry.

On the evening of the predicted theft, Belkacem, Guédira, and several other officers arrive at the château and ultimately catch Benjamin in a maze on the castle’s extensive grounds. As she places him in handcuffs, Belkacem mocks Benjamin for getting captured so easily. Belkacem and Guédira guide Benjamin out of the maze and into a squad car; he is ultimately taken to jail.

Following Benjamin’s arrest, Belkacem searches his shop for the bracelet, but fails to find anything. After she leaves, she receives a phone call from Guédira, who asserts that Benjamin was the accomplice in a larger scheme planned by Assane. Exasperated, Belkacem exhorts Guédira to stop attempting to link everything back to Assane. When she returns to the police station, she attempts to get into Guédira’s office, but discovers that he has locked the door. Inside, Guédira claims that he is entertaining his girlfriend. Belkacem is shocked that Guédira is engaging in romantic pursuits during work hours, but ultimately leaves him alone.



The next day, Belkacem receives a tip from an unknown caller, who claims that there is going to be an illegal art sale to a man named Justin Avisto that night at 10:00, at the Hotel Derwatt. Belkacem arrives at the hotel to make the arrest, and is flabbergasted to find that “Justin Avisto” is really Guédira in disguise. Despite the fact that Guédira has managed to recover the bracelet, Belkacem is suspicious of him. Guédira attempts to explain himself by telling Belkacem to watch the latest video on his phone. Belkacem is confused, albeit flattered, when the video in question turns out to show Guédira declaring that he has a crush on her. Guédira is horrified by what he has accidentally revealed, and grabs the phone away.

At the police station, Belkacem interrogates Manon, whom she had previously arrested during the “Avisto” art sale. She asks Manon whether she has any ties to Assane; Manon grins and replies that Assane is dead. As she is increasingly suspicious of Guédira, Belkacem also questions Manon as to whether he is a part of her gang. Manon merely scoffs and tells Belkacem that she never talks to the police.



The next morning, Belkacem tells Guédira that she knows that he has been working with Assane, and demands that he stop lying to her. Guédira admits that Assane visited his office several days earlier. Belkacem is outraged by the fact that Guédira failed to arrest him; Guédira responds that Assane had offered to let himself be taken in if he assisted him, but that he had lied and ultimately escaped. Belkacem accuses Guédira of admiring Assane, and warns him that he is walking on extremely thin ice. She orders him to tell her immediately if Assane contacts him again.

That evening, Belkacem receives a phone call from Guédira, who informs her that Assane is at the Palais Garnier. After Belkacem inquires how he knows this, Guédira responds that he has found a coded message in that day’s edition of The Objector. Belkacem is annoyed and tells Guédira that she no longer trusts him, as she is not sure whose side he is on.

Several days later, Belkacem is once again contacted by Guédira, now claiming that Assane is at the Arc de Triomphe with the black pearl. Belkacem replies that the police had previously received a tip that the black pearl was in possession of a man named Keller. Guédira entreats Belkacem to believe him, and urges her to act immediately. Belkacem ultimately agrees to go along. At the Arc de Triomphe, she arrests Keller while Guédira searches for Assane.

Personality and relationships


Belkacem is a tough, no-nonsense policewoman who possesses a great deal of grit and tenacity. She displays a choleric temperament, and is prone to outbursts of anger, including curse-filled verbal tirades, whenever her expectations are thwarted. Belkacem appears to view arresting Assane as her ultimate goal, and is thus very frustrated whenever he manages to slip from her grasp.

When it comes to police work, Belkacem tends to be rather stubborn, and frequently displays a poor ability to learn from her mistakes, particularly when it comes to trusting Guédira. As a result, she often appears to be rather slow on the uptake.

In the first two parts of the series, Belkacem is a lieutenant in the police department. In Part 3, after Romain Laugier departs for unclear reasons, she is promoted to the role of captain. As a result she is able to supervise her own squad of police officers, including a female lieutenant named Clémentine Vidal.

Belkacem’s most notable relationship in the police department is the one she shares with Guédira. Although the two are close, Belkacem is often annoyed by Guédira’s various eccentricities. For most of the series she is unaware that he has a crush on her; however, her seemingly jealous reaction when Guédira began to spend time with Fleur Bélanger may indicate that she reciprocates his feelings even if she herself is unaware of it.

Appearances

 * Part One


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


 * Part Two


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


 * Part Three


 * Chapter 1
 * Chapter 2
 * Chapter 3
 * Chapter 4
 * Chapter 5
 * Chapter 6
 * Chapter 7

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

- Belkacem comments on Guédira's theories

"How many thieves do you know that invite you to their burglaries?"

- Belkacem notes the absurdity of Assane's plan to rob the black pearl

"The truth is that you don't want to arrest him, because you admire him. You didn't want to be Ganimard, so you became Lupin's accomplice."

- Belkacem scolds Guédira for working with Assane

Trivia

 * In Parts 1 & 2, Belkacem is depicted with prominent blonde streaks in her naturally dark brown hair. These are absent in Part 3.