Tuesday November 19, M6 offers the last two episodes of Spies of Terror (our opinion). Unlike the movie November, which focuses on the few days following the attacks of November 13, the miniseries inspired by the last third of the eponymous book by Mathieu Suc brilliantly retraces the in-depth investigation carried out by agents of the French intelligence services which led to the elimination of sponsors of the Paris attacks, including the mastermind of the operation, a year later in Syria, a jihadist identified in fiction thanks to the make and color of his car. Fact or fiction?
The Spies of Terror : Was Boubakeur el Hakim really identified thanks to his car?
Boubakeur el Hakim, the mastermind of the November 13 attacks, is in fiction stupidly identified by his car. Is this the case in reality? We asked Matthieu Suc, whom we met shortly before the launch of the series. “No. In fact, I had the testimony of a former jihadist, who is one of the first to mention the Amniyat [le service de renseignements de l’Etat islamique, ndlr], and to speak of Boubakeur el Hakim without giving his real name. He called him “the emir with the white Kia”. When writing, we were a bit stuck at the end to connect all the tracks knowing that there were things we couldn't tell. I suggested returning to the story of the white Kia, which was a real element of the story, even if I think that el Hakim no longer had this car when he was “droned”, but at one time he had one. This also made it possible to show that in Intelligence, there is the technology and the fantastic means that we have today of course, but there is also the whole 'analysis' part. Analysis is not only about the moment T, it is also about picking up the thread of things. And so that’s what Malika, Rachida Brakni’s character, does by taking the photos. We know that the most important men within the Islamic State changed cars so that we would not know which vehicle they were in so as not to be droned. And when they got out of their car, the street had been covered. So we used all of that to achieve this credible ending on Boubakeur el Hakim. Knowing that he is going to be droned not far from the stadium, which was his office. It turns out that the former jihadist who spoke of “the emir with the white Kia” ran a restaurant which was not far from the stadium and often encountered Boubakeur el Hakim. It became interesting to use this element which was real. But I don't know what the plan was to assassinate Boubakeur el Hakim, nor who the mole was, nor from which intelligence service it was. However, many things in the series are real and others were invented but are not far from having happened.
The Spies of Terror : Did Saïd benefit from a protection program?
Minotaur, Saïd's code name, is a character inspired by several sources, including one in particular but some elements of which have been changed so that he is not identifiable. Still, in the end, he receives new passports from the agent, leaves Lille and settles with his family in Paris where he works as a garbage collector… “I don't know anymore if it's true or not but yes, there are protection programs for repentant people but we are very, very late, insists Matthieu Suc. Said is not a repentant but someone who took risks.”
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