Chapter 1 (Lupin; Part 3)

Chapter 1 is the first episode of the third part of the Netflix series Lupin, and the eleventh episode overall.

Synopsis
To mend matters with Claire and Raoul, Assane devises a plan to get them out of France. But with high stakes come greater risks – and no room for error.

1998
As the Andrèsy School is letting out for the summer, Benjamin tells Assane that he will be spending the holiday at the house of Paul, a family friend of the Ferels whom Assane dislikes. Afterwards, Assane is informed by an official that the new tenant in the apartment where he used to live with Babakar has been receiving mail from Senegal addressed to him, and that he will need to go and pick it up.

At his old apartment building, Assane is handed a stack of letters from the new tenant. As he heads down the stairs, he sees that one of the items appears to be a postcard from his mother. However, before he can read it, he is accosted by Bruno, a childhood friend who lives in a nearby apartment with his younger sister Anna. While they watch France win a matchup in the 1998 world cup, Assane asks if he can temporarily stay at Bruno’s apartment. Bruno accepts.

Present Day
A year after the Pellegrinis’ concert at the Théâtre du Châtelet, a heavily bearded Assane lives in Marseille with J’accuse. The media are continuing to cover his exploits relentlessly, and have been targeting Claire and Raoul for information. Assane watches a news broadcast which shows Claire and Raoul being harassed by journalists and photographers, with Claire desperately pleading for privacy. Deeply upset by the treatment his family has suffered, Assane decides to return to Paris.

One rainy evening in late November, as Claire is leaving a shift at the hospital, she receives a text message from an unknown number telling her to follow a man carrying an orange umbrella. Immediately suspecting shenanigans from Assane, she nonetheless does as she is instructed. Assane leads Claire to a deserted loggia and presents himself to her. Claire stares at Assane for a moment, then turns to walk away. Assane grabs her by the shoulder and begs her to wait, telling her that he understands why she is angry with him. On the verge of tears, Claire replies that Assane couldn’t possibly understand the fear and shame that she and Raoul experience daily, and accuses him of only ever thinking about himself.

Assane offers to take Claire and Raoul out of France with him, telling her that he has booked a ticket from a boat leaving Marseille in two days’ time. However, this proposal only further upsets Claire, who is appalled by the idea of her son growing up as a fugitive. She asserts that the only way for Assane to fix everything would be to turn himself in to the police. When Assane fails to respond, Claire sadly tells him that he is not a hero, but a coward, and leaves.

Soon afterwards, Assane meets up with Benjamin and complains about Claire’s reaction. Benjamin points out that Assane’s activities have made Claire’s life hell for the past year, and shows him that she is routinely featured on the covers of tabloid magazines. Assane decides that he needs to complete one final caper in order to provide a better life for his family: stealing a famous black pearl, a crime which he had attempted several years earlier but had failed, and then faking his own death. He tells Benjamin that if he needs to vanish, he might as well go out in style.

Assane visits the Maison Everlin boutique at the Place Vendôme, where the black pearl is currently located, posing as a deliveryman. He asks the receptionist, Madame Simon, to take a letter from him, but she orders him to come inside and to remove his motorcycle helmet. When she sees his face, she is shocked and prepares to sound the alarm. However, Assane manages to convince her that he is not in fact Assane Diop, but that his facial resemblance to the famous criminal is ruining his life.

Madame Simon gives the letter to Monsieur Imbert, the owner of the Maison Everlin. When he reads it, he is horrified and calls in a police team led by Sofia Belkacem, now promoted to the rank of captain. When they arrive, they are greeted by a BRI commander who introduces himself as Felix and states that his men are securing the perimeter. Inside the boutique, Monsieur Imbert reads the offending letter to the police. In it, Assane states that he will steal the black pearl at exactly 10:00 PM on the night of Friday, December 3. Belkacem orders Imbert not to share the letter with anyone.

Assane spies on Raoul as he is playing basketball with his schoolmates, and is distressed to see that his son has become the target of insults and bullying. When one of the other boys tells Raoul that Assane doesn’t care about him, Raoul throws the ball at him and the two begin fighting. The boys’ coach halfheartedly attempts to break up the fight before ultimately cancelling the practice session.

Although Youssef Guédira is no longer assigned to the case, Belkacem informs him that Assane has returned. Guédira is extremely excited and pesters Belkacem for more information. Belkacem gives Guédira the letter that Assane had written to Imbert, and Guédira quickly realizes that it is nearly identical to a message sent by Arsène Lupin to one of the victims of his burglaries. He notes that the alias that Assane had used when giving the letter to Madame Simon, Michel Beaumont, is one of Arsène Lupin’s code names.

Unbeknownst to Belkacem and Guédira, Assane has also sent the letter to Fleur Bélanger, a journalist at The Objector who has published a number of articles on Assane. The editor of the paper, Franck, compliments Fleur on having gotten access to the information. This annoys Arnold de Garmeaux, a fellow journalist with whom Fleur has a rivalry. Shortly afterward, the news breaks across the country’s print and television media. The police are highly irritated to discover that the information is now public. At home, a dismayed Claire sees a report detailing Assane’s upcoming stunt.

Imbert demonstrates the boutique’s security system to Felix, and shows him the location of the black pearl, which is being guarded by a set of alarm-triggering laser beams. That evening, Imbert and the police officers closely monitor the security camera footage, waiting for Assane to strike. Meanwhile, a large crowd of Assane’s supporters has gathered outside the Maison Everlin. Guédira, who has decided to attend the robbery despite not being on the case, mills around with them; unbeknownst to him he is standing beside Fleur. A television crew is also at the scene covering the event. Claire apprehensively watches the broadcast from her apartment with Raoul sitting beside her.

As the clock strikes 10:00, nothing happens, much to the disappointment of the audience and the relief of Belkacem and her team. However, as soon as they start to relax, the alarms sound, and the crowd of Assane’s supporters immediately erupts into cheers. Despite his status as a police officer, Guédira is thrilled that Assane has managed to pull off another caper. Raoul grins at Claire, who shakes her head disapprovingly but cannot stop herself from smiling back. Belkacem, on the other hand, is furious, and begins unmasking the BRI officers who had been standing around the pearl.

While watching the security footage, Imbert notices a rogue BRI officer, who appears to know all of the security codes, moving through the rooms of the boutique. He frantically calls Belkacem and tells her of the new development. Locked in Imbert’s office, Assane changes back into his street clothes. He makes for the exit of the boutique, but is stopped by Felix, who shoves him against the wall and places him in handcuffs. Assane is guided out of the door by Felix and another officer. As he passes through the crowd of fans, Assane notices Guédira among them. As the footage of Assane’s arrest makes its way onto the news, Raoul stares dejectedly at the ground, while his concerned mother tries to console him. Assane is bundled into the back of a squad car and driven away.

However, it turns out that “Felix” is actually Assane’s childhood friend Bruno, and the other officer in the vehicle is Benjamin, the three having planned every step of the evening’s events. Bruno and Benjamin drop Assane off in a deserted alleyway, and Assane climbs onto the roof of an adjacent building. He begins to make his way over the roofs of Paris, but is soon spotted by a group of genuine officers. Assane tries to make a wide jump over a street to the roofs on the other side, but fails to hold onto the eaves and falls several stories to the ground.

Cast

 * Omar Sy as Assane Diop
 * Ludivine Sagnier as Claire Laurent
 * Antoine Gouy as Benjamin Ferel
 * Soufiane Guerrab as Youssef Guédira
 * Shirine Boutella as Sofia Belkacem
 * Mamadou Haidara as young Assane
 * Etan Simon as Raoul Diop
 * Pierre Lottin as Bruno
 * Adèle Wismes as Clémentine Vidal
 * Xavier Robic as Nicholas Imbert
 * Martha Canga Antonio as Fleur Bélanger
 * Julien Pestel as Arnold de Garmeaux
 * Daniel Hanssens as Franck Robert
 * Fargass Assandé as Babakar Diop
 * Pauline Hurugen as Anna
 * Nadd as Andreas
 * Audrey Looten as Madame Simon
 * Jean-Yves Freyburger as jewellery importer


 * Michel Bouis as Metro police captain
 * Maximilien Seweryn as mallette man
 * Emmanuel Cottalorda as Major Bois
 * Éric Bougnon as basketball coach
 * Marc Simon as France fan '98
 * Jenna Pisani as woman in crowd being interviewed
 * Henri Giey as man in crowd being interviewed #1
 * Sullivan Jousset as man in crowd being interviewed #2
 * Aurélie Casse as herself
 * Cécile Ollivier as herself
 * Charles Roger-Bour as school principal
 * Adrian Valli De Villebonne as young Benjamin Ferel
 * Noé Wodecki as young Bruno
 * Yanis Bentallah as Mathis
 * Bonnie Bouriche Troutaud as young Anna
 * Lelio Bernard as Paul

Music

 * original music by Mathieu Lamboley
 * "Atomic" by Blondie
 * "Requiem K. 626: Lacrimosa Dies Illa" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Trivia

 * French television journalists Aurélie Casse and Cécile Ollivier appear as themselves, covering Assane's exploits on the news.