Claire

Claire is a main character in the French thriller series Lupin. She is portrayed by Ludivine Sagnier, while her teenaged counterpart is portrayed by Ludmilla Makowski.

Claire is Assane's ex-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. Assane, seeing that Claire is being harassed by a group of boys, manages to drive them off and sits down next to her. Slightly irritated by his intervention, Claire 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. After introducing herself, she 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 disapproves of fighting, Assane attacks the boys and gets injured. Afterwards, Claire cleans his wounds in the bathroom, and Assane tries to kiss her. Claire laughs, telling him 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 she has no other male friends, but re-affirms that this does not mean that he can kiss her. Assane shows Claire that he has managed to steal a lighter from the boys, and Claire is impressed and amused.

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. Claire is touched by this, and kisses Assane, telling him that she likes being with him, and that she enjoys the idea that they will always be there for one another.

After Assane moves to the College d’Andrésy, he continues to see Claire, who has been studying the violin at the Paris music conservatory. One day, shortly before an important audition, Claire discovers 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. As Claire attempts to drag Assane out of the shop, he calls Lorenzo a racist.

Without Claire’s knowledge, Assane decides to commit his first major theft by stealing the most expensive violin from Lorenzo's shop, 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. With her hopes in tatters, she and Assane are escorted out of the building by the officers.

2006


Claire is now in a relationship with Assane, but his behavior is causing her significant emotional pain. 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. She mentions that while she knows that Assane engages in small-scale petty crime such as picking pockets, she is worried that he may be involved in something more serious. Claire is conflicted as to whether or not Assane is truly her soul mate; her therapist reminds her that she had previously told her that Assane was made for her whether she liked it or not. 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 brings her to one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Noticing her evident anxiety, Assane asks what the matter is. Claire nervously tells Assane that she is pregnant; however, to her surprise, 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. Although Claire is mildly embarrassed by this, she is too overjoyed and relieved by his happiness at the news to stop him. However, Assane sees Agatha 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, mentioning that this is Maurice Leblanc's birthday. After making a series of joking name suggestions (all of which are rejected by Claire), Assane promises that he will stop his "fuck-ups" 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 full custody of Raoul while Assane is granted visitation rights. In October 2020, Assane meets Claire at a café in order to give her an alimony payment. He tells Claire that he has gotten a job; she responds by assuming that it is another form of Assane's secret businesses which he hides from his family. Claire reminds Assane that he has stood Raoul up three times by this point; Assane promises to change, but Claire is skeptical. She gives him back the money, telling him to buy a present for Raoul's upcoming fourteenth birthday with it. However, 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 up Raoul. He tells her that nothing special had happened the previous night. While walking in the center of Paris with Raoul, Assane gives him the Arsène Lupin book that Babakar had given to him. 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 Dumont, Claire calls him from the hospital at which she works, greeting him cheerfully and asking 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 does not believe him, and asks him whether she really wants to know what he is doing. Although Assane responds that she does not want to know, Claire again implores him to be open 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 visitation, to the annoyance of Claire, who tells him that she is going out for drinks with friends. During the visit, Raoul tells Assane that Claire is actually on a date with a doctor.

On Raoul's birthday, Assane makes it to Claire's apartment after escaping Leonard and gives Raoul a top hat and a cape. Raoul is not sure that he likes the present, and Claire disapproves of it, but Assane assures Raoul that he will love it. As Raoul and Assane prepare to leave, Claire kisses Raoul and wishes them a good trip. Assane asks if Claire is not going with them, telling her that he has bought a ticket for her as well. 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. As it is also Leblanc's birthday, the town is hosting a Lupin-themed festival in his 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. Raoul laughs and says that they are crazy for doing this; Assane tells him that they may be crazy, but they are connected.

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 Leonard in the background. He begins to loudly sing "Happy Birthday" to Raoul as a diversion, and then leaves, telling Claire and Raoul that he is going to get drinks.

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, but does not press him for details. Later, as the train nears its destination, Leonard 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. Leonard tells him that he has good taste. Claire asks Assane if he and Leonard know each other; Assane says that they do not, but Leonard 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 concerned 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 remarks that in real life, Lupin would either have been caught or known when to stop.

Raoul wanders ahead of his parents, and tells them that he will be heading down to the beach in order to explore the town's famous cliffs. Claire warns him not to go too far. After Raoul is gone, she asks Assane who the man on the train was. 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 demands to be informed of what Assane's father, of whom Assane has told her next to nothing, has to do with anything; Assane tells her that when everything is finished, he will reveal all, and asks her to give him one more chance to prove himself.

Suddenly, 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. Unbeknownst to her, Leonard has abducted Raoul from the beach and driven off. While Claire continues her desperate search, Assane gets caught by Youssef Guedira.

Personality


Claire is kind, sensible and loving. She desires to know the details of what Assane is doing in his time away from her; much to her distress, her pleas for information on this topic are nearly always met with noncommittal, evasive responses. However, Claire's forgiving nature and desire for her son to grow up with a father figure in his life lead her to keep Assane around despite his many transgressions.

Claire has expressed feminist viewpoints. In her youth, she found most men exasperating, claiming that they were either like barbarians (who invaded her space and harassed her) or knights (who treated her as though she was a damsel in distress). She also had an aversion to violence and arguments, instead preferring to “play dead” until any tormentors left her alone. Although Claire professed herself not to be in need of a boyfriend, she quickly developed feelings for Assane when he added a third type of man to her classification system (the gentleman, who “plays the game but respects the rules”). She occasionally has difficulties reconciling her typically balanced nature with her more romantic tendencies, as seen in her struggle to decide whether or not Assane was her soul mate.

Currently, Claire works in a hospital, having demonstrated a natural skill as a healer in her teen years when she helped Assane with his injuries after his fight with the bullies. She devotes most of her energies to maintaining a stable home for herself and Raoul, of whom she has full custody after her separation from Assane.

Relationships


Claire met Assane in 1995, when he came to stay at the orphanage at which she was living. Although initially annoyed by his intervention when she was being pestered by bullies, she quickly grew to care about him, treating him with kindness and asking him about his passion for Arsène Lupin. After realizing that she had romantic feelings for Assane, Claire expressed a desire that they always be there for one another. Early in their relationship, Assane urged Claire to read the Arsène Lupin stories; twenty-five years later, she is still able to quote sections of them from memory, although she admits to not remembering the ultimate fate of the character.

In 2006, Claire’s feelings about Assane were much more conflicted, reaching a point where she needed to visit a therapist in order to deal with her inner turmoil. Although dismayed by Assane’s chaotic, inconsistent nature, his emotional unavailability and his habit of hiding things from her, she struggled to see a life without him due to the length of their shared history. Claire's therapist was surprised by her continued fealty to Assane, given his failure to meet even the minimum requirement for a good romantic partner. After becoming pregnant with Raoul, Claire was extremely anxious about telling Assane for fear of his reaction; to her surprise he was elated by the prospect of becoming a father.

It is unclear when Assane and Claire formally ended their relationship. In the present day, Claire continues to stress that the pair remain friends even if they are no longer romantically involved, and desires that Assane be present in the lives of her and Raoul. She still knows little about the extent of Assane’s criminal life, and is unaware of his underlying motivations. Although begging him to open up about his exploits remains an unsuccessful tactic, Claire seldom attempts any other means of obtaining information.

More recently, Claire is making a concerted attempt to move on from Assane. She is in the early stages of a relationship with a doctor named Marc. Claire is reluctant to share this with Assane and is mildly shocked when she finds out that Raoul told him instead; despite initially claiming that she has “nothing to hide,” she later informs Assane that her private life is none of his business.

Claire has custody over Raoul and as such is largely responsible for his upbringing. She is a doting and attentive parent, trying to get Raoul to maintain healthy sleeping habits and checking in about his schoolwork, and is open with him about her recent romantic engagements. Claire tends to be slightly overprotective and prone to worrying with regards to Raoul; she initially disapproves of Assane’s gift of a top hat and cape (believing it to be inappropriate for a boy of fourteen) and becomes frightened the moment she realizes that she cannot see Raoul on the beach in Étretat.

Appearances

 * Part One


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


 * Part One


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

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

- Claire to Assane in 1995

"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 confesses her doubts about Assane to her therapist in 2006

"She is a reference, an emotional security [...] No matter what happens, Claire is a door to normality, to ordinary life."

- Ludivine Sagnier on Claire

"Even if [Claire] loves Assane, she doesn't depend on anyone to build her happiness and she's not waiting around for him, like a classical character would do. She goes on with her life and raises her son."

- Ludivine Sagnier on Claire

Trivia

 * Claire is the only major character whose surname remains unknown.
 * Ludivine Sagnier joined the series before the character of Claire had been fully developed, and suggested that she 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 does not appear to be based on any character in the original Arsène Lupin stories; however, she may have been partially inspired by Clarisse d'Etigues, Lupin's first major love interest.