Raoul

Raoul is a major character in the French thriller series Lupin. He is portrayed by Etan Simon.

The son of Assane and Claire, Raoul was born on the 11th of December, also the birthday of Maurice Leblanc. He is a quiet boy who enjoys reading and playing video games.

Part 1


Some time between Raoul’s birth on December 11, 2006, and October 2020, his parents separate. As a result, Raoul is currently being raised entirely by Claire, who nonetheless encourages Assane to spend as much time with him as possible. On the day after the Louvre heist, Assane gives Raoul the book of Arsène Lupin stories that Babakar had given to him twenty-five years earlier. Much like his father, Raoul becomes enthralled with Lupin. During a later visit from Assane, Raoul tells him that Claire is attempting to start a new relationship with a doctor named Marc.

On Raoul’s fourteenth birthday, Assane gives him a Lupin-style cape and top hat, and takes him and Claire to the scenic seaside town of Étretat, where a festival in honor of the birthday of Maurice Leblanc is being held. Raoul is mildly embarrassed by his parents’ playful banter on the train. When Assane asks about Claire’s love life and Claire replies that it is none of his business, Raoul reveals that her new relationship is progressing slowly, to Claire's mortification. After Claire takes a selfie with Assane and Raoul, Assane notices that Hubert Pellegrini's henchman Léonard Koné is in the background, and loudly sings “Happy Birthday” to Raoul, while staring directly at Léonard. At the end of the ride, Léonard sits down next to Raoul and the two strike up a brief conversation about the Lupin festival. This greatly unnerves Claire, who is instructed by Assane to disembark along with Raoul.

Although reluctant to put on the top hat and cape in Paris, Raoul enjoys wearing them in Étretat, where many people are dressed in similar outfits. After deciding to walk ahead on the beach in order to explore the Hollow Needle, a rock formation made famous in a Lupin story, Raoul is kidnapped by Léonard and driven away from the beach and his parents, who eventually realize to their horror that he is missing and begin a fruitless search for him.

Part 2


Léonard speeds out of Étretat with Raoul bound and gagged in the backseat of his BMW. He tries to call Hubert, but is unable to do so due to a lack of cell phone reception. Léonard decides to pull into the nearby town of Bourneville in order to place his call. To avoid attention, he pre-emptively stuffs Raoul into the trunk of the car. In Bourneville, Léonard is forced to buy a drink in order to use a pub's phone; he quietly gives it to Raoul as he returns to the vehicle. After Assane and Youssef Guédira arrive in town, Léonard speeds away. He brings Raoul to an abandoned hunting lodge and ties him to a chair. When Raoul hears Assane pull up in front of the mansion, he begins yelling for his father. Léonard orders Raoul to be quiet, and threatens to kill both him and Assane.

Some time later, Léonard locks Raoul back into the trunk of the BMW. After Assane throws Léonard out of one of the lodge's windows, the assassin struggles over to the vehicle, douses it in gasoline and sets it alight, with Raoul still inside. Raoul desperately yells for help as the heat inside the vehicle begins increasing to unbearable levels. Before any serious harm can come to him, Raoul is rescued by Guédira, who manages to pry open the trunk and helps Raoul to safety. Raoul and Guédira race away from the mansion as Léonard shoots wildly at them with a hunting rifle. Upon reaching the car Assane had stolen in Étretat, they get in and drive off.



Guédira tells Raoul that he and Assane are both passionate fans of Arsène Lupin. Raoul asks Guédira who his favorite character is; Guédira responds that it is Inspector Ganimard, as they are both policemen. Raoul says that his favorite character is Lupin himself, since he reminds him of Assane. He tells Guédira that Assane is his favorite person in the world. Upon arriving back at Claire’s apartment, Raoul and Guédira are confronted by a group of armed men waiting outside. One of them, Pascal Oblet, instructs Guédira to bring Raoul to the Hyatt hotel in central Paris at Commissioner Dumont’s orders. Guédira is confused, but obliges.

When Guédira and Raoul arrive at the Hyatt, they are greeted by Dumont, who compliments Guédira for delivering Raoul to him. Raoul looks around as Guédira and Dumont discuss the plans that have been made for him. Although Guédira is suspicious of Dumont’s motivations, he leaves Raoul with him. Raoul says that he wants to return home to see his mother, and manages to make a call to Assane, telling him where he is. Assane promises Raoul that he will come and get him.



Raoul is eventually brought to a meeting with Hubert, who tells him that he is organizing a foundation that will help children like Raoul whose parents are criminals. Enraged, Raoul asserts that his parents are not criminals. Hubert asks Raoul what his father does for a living; when Raoul is unable to respond, Hubert states that Assane is a thief, like Babakar before him. Raoul yells that this is not true, but Hubert goes further, asserting that Assane is an arrogant man who does not care about Raoul or Claire.

Dumont keeps watch over Raoul at the hotel, and offers him pizza, which Raoul refuses. Soon afterward, Dumont receives a phone call from Assane, with his voice disguised to sound like Hubert’s, ordering him to remove Raoul from the building. Dumont is confused, but does as he is told, bringing Raoul to the front of the hotel, where a large black van with tinted windows is waiting for them. When Raoul enters alone, he realizes that his “captor” is actually Assane. The two enjoy a happy reunion after they have safely left the Hyatt behind.



Raoul asks Assane if he is really a thief, and if this was the reason for the kidnapping. Assane grows somber and reveals the truth about Babakar’s death and the Diop family's history with Hubert. Raoul questions how far Assane will go to get revenge, telling him that Claire has said that he will never change. Assane promises that he will, once he has sorted out everything with the Pellegrinis. After thinking for a moment, Assane asserts that he will stop all of his criminal activity if Raoul wants him to. However, Raoul urges Assane to see it through. Assane is elated by his son’s reaction, and drives him home to Claire.

Upon arriving at his apartment building with Assane, Raoul waves to his mother, who is watching him from a window with an overjoyed expression. After Claire lets them into the building, Raoul runs up the stairs, calling to her. When he reaches the landing, Claire dashes out of their apartment and grabs him, hugging him tightly and kissing him repeatedly. Raoul is confused when Claire tells Assane, standing behind them and observing the scene with an air of contentment, to run away. Seconds later, the men who had greeted him and Guédira earlier burst through the doors and run down the stairs, searching for Assane, who has managed to hide in the ceiling.



When the men have gone, Claire pulls Raoul back into the apartment and asks him if he was hurt. Raoul states that he is fine, and compliments Assane’s actions in rescuing him. Claire is horrified by his reaction and yells that Assane is a dangerous man who cannot be trusted, and that everything that happened to Raoul was his fault. She clings to Raoul, telling him between shuddering sobs that she doesn't want Assane to come near them ever again.

Despite having forgiven Assane countless times in the past, Claire is able to make good on her promise and cuts off all of his contact with Raoul, while also making an attempt to pursue her relationship with Marc, the doctor, more seriously. Even so, Assane continues to call Raoul and offers him more Arsène Lupin books. During one phone call shortly before Léonard's murder, Raoul exhibits apprehension at Assane’s continuing criminal life, asking him if he will ever finish his plans. Assane laughs and asks Raoul if Claire is feeding him lines, but Raoul responds that he legitimately means it. Later, Raoul attempts to explain the plot of La Dame Blonde, an Arsène Lupin story, to Marc, who questions whether he is too old for the series.



At 9:30 PM on the night of Juliette Pellegrini’s benefit concert at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Claire is helping Raoul study history when they suddenly begin to hear a repetitive high-pitched noise coming from another room. The two search through their apartment looking for its source; eventually, Claire finds a small electronic watch underneath her bed. Raoul turns off the device's sound, at which point it reveals a message telling them to come to “Raoul’s Bridge” at 10:00. Raoul asks what this means, and Claire sheepishly explains that it is where she and Assane chose Raoul’s name in 2006. Raoul is excited by the notion of a visit with Assane, but Claire is firm in ruling it out. Raoul defiantly states that he will go anyway, and despite her reluctance Claire follows him.

The two reach the bridge at 10:00 exactly. Soon afterward, they begin to hear the sound of a motor; turning in its direction, they see Assane sailing up the Bassin d'Arsenal in a speedboat, beaming and waving. Assane gets out of the boat and walks onto the bridge, and Raoul runs into his arms, with Claire following behind more slowly. Assane tells Claire and Raoul that he is glad both of them are there, and explains that he has finished with the Pellegrini family, but that Claire was right about his being a danger to them. Claire, however, has a change of heart and tearfully tells Assane that the only thing that matters to her and Raoul is that they don’t lose him. Assane hugs them again, promising that he will watch over them from afar and that he will return. Smiling, he assures them that he loves them, and runs off as police sirens grow louder in the background. Claire and Raoul watch as he disappears into the night.

Personality


Raoul is an introverted and thoughtful teenager. Like many of those of his generation, he enjoys playing video games and listening to electronic music. Raoul is blunt in speech and has a sarcastic sense of humor; this can most clearly be seen in his trolling Assane about Claire’s relationship with Marc. He is also quite perceptive, for instance quickly recognizing that Assane was jealous of Marc and telling him to stop pretending that he wasn’t. Like Assane, Raoul has become a huge fan of Arsène Lupin.

Raoul is shown to have an impressive degree of stoicism and resilience. Despite having undergone a highly traumatic experience with his kidnapping and near-murder, he maintained his composure while being driven back to Paris by Youssef Guédira, while being held hostage by Hubert Pellegrini, and while being rescued by Assane, and was subsequently confused by his mother’s hysterical reaction to the event after he returned home. Raoul did become upset when Hubert insulted Assane, and was annoyed when Marc suggested that he was too old for the Arsène Lupin books; in general, however, he is unflappable.

Little is known about Raoul’s daily life outside of his interactions with Assane and Claire. It is unclear whether he maintains any significant friendships within his peer group.

Assane


Raoul admires his father greatly, even stating outright that Assane is his favorite person in the world. The nature of Raoul’s relations with Assane while his parents were still together is unclear. Following their separation, Raoul saw Assane on visit days, which Assane apparently sometimes forgot about. Raoul took Assane's neglect of his paternal duties in stride, despite Claire’s worries to the contrary. Their bond grew even stronger when Assane introduced Raoul to the world of Arsène Lupin. Raoul took to the books immediately, insightfully noting that the gentleman thief shared many similarities to Assane.

Raoul did not seem to blame Assane for his kidnapping, instead being enormously impressed with Assane’s rescue of him. After finding out about Assane’s criminal life, Raoul was not shocked or distressed, and even encouraged Assane to continue pursuing his quest for revenge against Hubert Pellegrini. Assane was overjoyed, as he had secretly longed for his son's approval.

Claire
Raoul spends the overwhelming majority of his time with Claire, as she has custody of him. Claire has been open with Raoul about her recent steps back into the world of dating. After Raoul trolled Assane with this knowledge, he commented that “mom talks.” Generally, he has a good relationship with Claire, who adores him.



Following his kidnapping, Raoul was very eager to return home to Claire. It is unclear whether he is aware of what his terrified mother attempted to do in order to recover him, nor whether he told Claire about his near-death experience. Later, Raoul was able to convince Claire to come to “Raoul’s bridge” with him, despite her initial negative reaction to the idea.

Other
After Youssef Guédira rescued Raoul from Léonard's clutches, the two enjoyed a moment of bonding about their shared interest in Arsène Lupin. Raoul lightly mocked Guédira for choosing Inspector Ganimard as his favorite character, while Guédira in turn ribbed Raoul for being uncreative in picking Lupin himself.

Although Raoul’s interactions with Hubert Pellegrini were brief, they were enough to ensure that he disliked the businessman, who accused Assane of not caring about his family to Raoul’s face. Raoul was also irritated with Gabriel Dumont, and behaved in a standoffish and sullen manner around him.

Raoul was willing to share his interest in Arsène Lupin with Claire’s new partner Marc, but was annoyed when Marc suggested that Raoul was too old for the books.

Appearances

 * Part One


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


 * Part Two


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

Quotes
"My father is the person I like best."

- Raoul on his relationship with Assane

Trivia

 * When Claire told him she was pregnant, Assane proposed three other potential names for Raoul (“Maurice,” “Assane Junior” and “Arsène”), all of which Claire rejected.