Gabriel Dumont

Gabriel Dumont is a main character in the first part of Lupin. He is portrayed by Vincent Garanger, while his younger counterpart is portrayed by Johann Dionnet.

Dumont was the detective in charge of overseeing the Babakar Diop case. In the present day, he is the commissioner of the Parisian police force.

1995


When Hubert Pellegrini accuses Babakar Diop of having stolen Marie-Antoinette's necklace, Dumont is summoned to take charge of the situation. Dumont agrees to bring Babakar to the station, but later reveals to Hubert that the accusation against him rests upon flimsy evidence. He points out that Hubert, on the other hand, had increased the insurance policy on the necklace prior to its theft. Hubert realizes that Dumont is ready to build a case against him for having committed insurance fraud, and tells him that he would be wise not to cross him, as the entire Parisian police department is in his pocket. Dumont tells Hubert that he intends to see the investigation through to its conclusion, but capitulates after Hubert threatens the safety of his wife and promises him a promotion if he follows his instructions.

After Babakar's death in prison, Dumont collects Assane from his and Babakar's apartment. Assane initially claims to be living with his mother; Dumont easily figures out that he is lying and tells him to pack his belongings. Assane attempts to escape out the window but is caught by Dumont.

Present day
Dumont is happily married to his wife Hélène, with whom he has two children. He has also been promoted to chief commissioner of the Paris police department. Unbeknownst to him, Assane has placed cameras all around his house, allowing him to be informed of all of Dumont's plans.

One day, while Dumont is in a meeting at City Hall, he is interrupted by Assane, dressed as an IT specialist and loudly claiming that there is a porn-related issue with Dumont's computer. Highly embarrassed, Dumont allows Assane to drag him to an isolated corridor, where Assane knocks him unconscious and brings him to a dark room in the depths of the building, tying him to a chair.



When Dumont wakes up, he is horrified to find that he has been kidnapped. Assane begins interrogating him, using a voice scrambler to hide his identity. He questions Dumont about his actions in 1995, accusing him of having framed Babakar; Dumont protests that he did not frame anybody, and asks if his kidnapping is connected to the Louvre break-in. Assane claims that Dumont has taken bribes from notorious criminals, and threatens to tell Hélène about it if Dumont fails to give him information on Babakar. Dumont yells that he doesn't know what Assane wants from him.

Assane calls Hélène and Dumont tries to speak with her, but due to the soundproofing between Assane and Dumont, she cannot hear him. However, Hélène does hear Assane threatening her husband, and quickly becomes terrified, desperately begging Dumont to say something. Dumont frantically shouts that he accepted the bribes in order to provide for his family, and Assane hangs up the phone.

Assane reveals that he has installed cameras around Dumont's house, demonstrating that he has the power to create deepfakes of Dumont claiming to be a pedophile or declaring loyalty to ISIS. Horrified, Dumont again asks Assane what he wants. Now enraged, Assane yells that he wants to find out what happened to his father, immediately revealing his identity to Dumont, who begins to feel sorry for his kidnapper. However, he continues to maintain that his actions with regards to Babakar's arrest were legitimate and honest, and tells Assane that if he releases him, he will not attempt to have him arrested. Shortly after Assane leaves, Laugier, Belkacem and Guedira find Dumont and untie him.

Dumont returns home and furiously destroys all of Assane's cameras, and afterwards calls Hubert Pellegrini to tell him that a new party has become involved in Babakar's case. When Hélène returns, she and and her husband greet one another emotionally. Later, while Dumont is eating breakfast in a café, he is accosted by Assane, who asks him for information about Hubert. Dumont tells him to contact a journalist named Fabienne Beriot, but exhorts Assane to leave him and his family alone.



Back at work in the police department, Dumont listens to Laugier, Belkacem and Guedira present their theory that his kidnapper and the Louvre thief are the same person. He mocks Guedira for his notion that the crimes are connected to the Arsène Lupin stories, but allows the three to continue gathering evidence. However, when presented with five facial reconstructions of the man responsible for the Louvre heist, one of which looks exactly like Assane, Dumont claims not to recognize any of them. He tells Laugier and Belkacem to stop attempting to connect the cases. As an extra punishment for his Lupin theory, Dumont kicks Guedira off the case entirely, instead having him handle paperwork.

Later, Dumont berates Laugier and Belkacem for wanting to interrogate Leonard after he is released by the Le Havre police.

Personality and relationships
In his younger years, Dumont was an honest, dedicated detective who intended to complete his investigations, no matter the consequences. However, his experience with Hubert and Babakar disillusioned him, and led him to center his attentions on his advancement up the ranks of the police department. In the present day, the now middle-aged Dumont occupies the position of commissioner, and focuses on maintaining his job and providing for his family. He is generally shown to be capable in this role, ably directing those who work for him.

On the other hand, Dumont’s protective streak leads him to engage in corruption and deceit: for example, he has accepted bribes from criminals in order to pay for the education of his children. When Dumont gets caught in the middle of the escalating war between Assane and Hubert, he attempts to play both sides, communicating regularly with the Pellegrini patriarch while interfering with his own detectives’ attempts to identify and track down Assane.

Dumont enjoys a loving relationship with his wife Hélène and their two children. He can be manipulated extremely easily by the vaguest of threats against Hélène; both Hubert and Assane have used this to their advantage.

Appearances

 * Part One


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

Quotes
"I’m not playing around. I’m trying to get to the truth."

- Dumont in 1995 on his investigation into the necklace theft

"Believe me or don’t, but at the time I liked my job. And I was good at it."

- Dumont to Assane during his interrogation

Trivia

 * Vincent Garanger was originally only set to appear as a guest in the third episode, but the showrunners enjoyed his performance and expanded Dumont's role significantly.