Thomas Cantaloube takes over the Office of Legends – Libération

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If you are one of those who remained glued to the legends officethe obscure charm of Malotru and the banter of Marie-Jeanne Duthilleul, then you will love the Seagullsthe fantastic spy novel written by Thomas Cantaloube in the universe of the series directed by Eric Rochant. And if you missed the Legends Officeit doesn't matter, it will be an opportunity to catch up. This dark novel immerses us in the mysteries of the DGSE (General Directorate of External Security), and in particular at the heart of the famous Action service, whose different members are called “the Seagulls”. An exciting service to discover because its missions, officially, do not exist. He is there surrounded by Marcel Gaingouin, the director of operations of the DGSE, soon to retire and looking for a successor, and by Marie-Jeanne Duthilleul, the head of the department, who knows how to be tough when necessary.

In this novel, the Action department is made up of four men. “The famous compartmentalization which reigned between the services of the DGSE also extended within the same branch. SA agents [service Action] did not know what their comrades were doing at the same time, writes Thomas Cantaloube. Sometimes they learned about it through an indiscretion; sometimes they only discovered it when a team returned from the field, but more often they never found out. They could just guess that, since they were immediately given a new mission, the personnel would have to be mobilized elsewhere. There was a spoiled choice for theaters of intervention recently: Sahel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Central African Republic, Ukraine… Moreover, all four constituted a complementary team. Corsan [Icare] Although he was based at CPEOM in Brittany, he specialized in operations in arid or mountainous terrain. Ajax was trained for infiltration missions in urban areas. Jason and Actaeon excelled in diving and handling explosives.” Of course, all these names are pseudonyms assigned as soon as the agent begins his training by officers who draw on the names of heroes or demigods from Greek mythology. And unlike their special forces counterparts, who look like big arms with tattoos and shaved heads, SA agents have to blend into the landscape. Among themselves, they sometimes call each other “skinny cats”, specifies Cantaloube, who clearly has phenomenal knowledge of the functioning of the French secret services.

Weapons factory and exfiltration

The plot of this novel, which should be followed by new episodes – at least we hope – takes place between Paris, Serbia and Mali. The hero is Yannick Corsan, alias Icare, who led with Ajax, Jason and Actéon the sabotage of an arms factory in Serbia suspected of supplying the jihadist group GSIM in Mali. In the hard drives stolen on this occasion, the DGSE discovered that a major terrorist attack was being prepared in Bamako. The problem is that it has an agent infiltrated within the GSIM, a young Malian with the nickname Canaque, and there is no question of him participating in the attack, even less that he is spotted on this occasion. It must therefore be exfiltrated urgently. Gaingouin will entrust the mission to Yannick Corsan, whom he dreams of making his successor. What he doesn't know is that he, overcome with grief after the disappearance of his wife at sea, is filling himself with antidepressants and amphetamines to keep going, which would get him fired. of the SA if it was known.

The story is fascinating: we find there all the diplomatic and military issues that France has faced in recent years in Mali. The style of Cantaloube, to whom we owe formidable political thrillers in the Série Noire [Requiem pour une République, Frakas et Mai 67] is perfect, sober and effective. It draws us into the story with the same force as a TV series. The Seagulls would currently be the subject of consideration for audiovisual development, and we strongly hope that this will be the case. In the meantime, the American remake of Legends Desk, The Agency, is filming for Showtime-Paramount+.

The Seagulls, Thomas Cantaloube, Fleuve noir-TOE (The Originals Editions), 336 pp, €20.90.