when watching Canal+ was free

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A unique history links Cherbourg (Manche) and the encrypted television channel Canal+which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. Time passed, and the case is now time-barred.

Canal+ without paying

In the 80sa little rumor, which became an open secretcirculated in the streets of Cherbourg: it was possible to watch encrypted programs from the Canal+ television channel without subscribing and, above all, without paying.

How ? Simply by using a pirate decoder. But word of mouth attracted attention, especially from justice et executives of the pay channel.

Free channel

After a difficult start, Canal+ began to find success in the mid-80s. But success has its share of problems. Just like the big fashion brands must face the counterfeitsCanal+ was confronted with the problem of decoders sold secretly: the famous pirate decoders.

At the beginning, when the channel was launched and for economic reasonsCanal+ had chosen a first decoder inexpensivewhile being aware of the risk of a possible piracy.

One month after launch from Canal+ in 1984and electronics magazine published an article and plans to create a pirate decoder at home and thus bypass the subscription.

The channel then had the magazine banned and seized, but the damage was done: the pirate decoder plans were in the wild. History does not say whether the famous magazine fell into the hands of arsenal technicians from Cherbourg.

Arsenal +

In November 1988the television news from FR3 Normandie announced the affair:

Electronic engineers from the DCAN of Cherbourg (Editor’s note: Directorate of Naval Construction and Weapons) have produced pirate decoders.

For them, to spend submarine plans to those of Canal+ decoders was child’s play. Which, however, lost our little geniuses of technology was that the rumors went beyond the designers of this illegal manufacturing.

La Presse de la Manche even mentioned the affair with an evocative title: “Wind of panic among pirates”. Indeed, it had become too easy to obtain a pirate decoder in the Cherbourg region.

Searches

Canal+ then estimated the number of pirate decoders throughout the country at 500,000, because what was happening in Cherbourg was also happening. in other cities in France.

The justice then did his work, and the maritime gendarmes discovered in the offices of the Cherbourg arsenal the famous plans of the decoders, which was, it must be said, no longer really a secret.

Beyond the plans, several searches took place in private homeswith the discovery of the famous pirate decoders.

Decoders in the trash

This conception which escaped its creators wasn’t really a matter of moneybut just a little technical feat to please to friends and family. But this artisanal business had become large-scale production pirate decoders.

When the affair was announced au grand publicmany pirate decoders ended up in the trash to avoid discovery during further searches.

The coordinated action of justice and the maritime gendarmes put an end to the story, especially since Canal+ was going to strengthen its encryption technology with the arrival of a new decoder called the Syster.

Nicolas CALLUAUD

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