A chronological exploration of Serge Bechstein's subject Vergès, tracing his evolution from anticolonial lawyer to covert operative and his eventual exposure.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Anticolonial Origins
The documentary opens with Vergès downplaying regional atrocities before flashing back to his postwar anticolonial activism. He establishes his legal reputation by defending Djamila Bouhired and pioneering the rupture strategy.
Key Events
Prologue: Khmer Rouge Downplaying — Vergès minimizes Khmer Rouge atrocities while emphasizing the U.S. role in the Cambodian genocide.
Location: Documentary Opening
Flashback: Postwar Activism — The narrative shifts to Vergès' early years as an anticolonial activist and lawyer.
Location: Postwar Algeria
Defense of Djamila Bouhired — Vergès fights for Bouhired's liberation, establishing his reputation as a revolutionary lawyer.
Location: Algerian Court
The Missing Years & Third World Ties
An inquiry into Vergès' unexplained absence reveals his covert work for Wadie Haddad's PFLP branch and a failed prison extraction mission for Moise Tshombe. His ideological alignment with Third World revolutionaries deepens.
Key Events
Rupture Strategy Introduction — Vergès employs his signature rupture strategy, accusing the prosecution of the defendant's offense.
Location: Courtroom
Support for Palestinian Fedayeen — Vergès extends his legal and operational support to Palestinian revolutionary groups.
Location: Middle East
Inquiry into Missing Years — The documentary investigates Vergès' unexplained absence, dismissing claims of Pol Pot involvement.
Location: Paris Archives
Congo Crisis: Tshombe Extraction — Vergès is paid to extract Moise Tshombe but vanishes without completing the mission.
Location: Congo Prison
Espionage & The Barbie Trial
Vergès operates in Eastern Europe alongside Carlos the Jackal and Johannes Weinrich, while mediating France-Iran negotiations. The narrative shifts to his high-stakes defense of Klaus Barbie, where he aggressively challenges French state authority.
Key Events
PFLP Behind-the-Lines Work — Vergès operates covertly for Wadie Haddad's PFLP faction during his missing years.
Location: Covert Locations
Eastern European Espionage — Vergès collaborates with Carlos and Weinrich on intelligence operations across Eastern Europe.
Location: Eastern Europe
France-Iran Negotiations — Vergès acts as an intermediary in tense negotiations between France and Iranian-backed terrorists.
Location: Diplomatic Hubs
Klaus Barbie Trial Begins — The famous trial commences, with Vergès appointed as Barbie's defense counsel.
Location: French Court
Discrediting France Strategy — Vergès equates Nazi occupation with French colonial rule to discredit the French state.
Location: Courtroom
Genoud Funding Network Revealed — The documentary exposes Genoud's decades-long financial backing of Vergès' controversial clients.
Location: Financial Records
Exposure & Final Silence
French intelligence abducts Carlos, and Stasi files are released, exposing Vergès' cloak-and-dagger past. The documentary concludes with the end of his activities and a historical reckoning of his controversial legacy.
Key Events
Genoud Funding Network Revealed — The documentary exposes Genoud's decades-long financial backing of Vergès' controversial clients.
Location: Financial Records
Bréguet and Kopp Defenses — Genoud funds the court defenses of Bréguet and Kopp, handled by Vergès.
Location: European Courts
Carlos Abduction by French Intel — French intelligence successfully abducts Carlos the Jackal, disrupting the network.
Location: French Territory
Stasi Files Released — Stasi files containing evidence of Vergès' cloak-and-dagger past are made public.
Location: East German Archives
Exposure of Covert Operations — Public exposure of Vergès' past activities brings his covert career to an abrupt end.
Location: Media Outlets
End of Vergès' Activities — The documentary concludes that Vergès' operational era has definitively ceased.
Location: Legal & Intelligence Circles
Legacy of Anticolonial Defense — Reflection on Vergès' lasting impact on anticolonial legal strategies and revolutionary movements.
Location: Historical Context
Documentary Conclusion — The film closes with a final assessment of Vergès' complex historical role.
Location: Narrative Frame
Archival Reflection — Final archival notes summarize the ethical and historical debates surrounding Vergès.
Location: Documentary Archive
Historical Reckoning — The narrative ends with a broader reflection on legal ethics in revolutionary contexts.
Location: Global Memory
Story Breakdown
Anticolonial Activism — Vergès establishes his legal career through revolutionary defense strategies in Algeria and the Middle East.
FLN Legal Defense — Vergès represents the Algerian National Liberation Front using innovative courtroom tactics.
Rupture Strategy — A defensive technique that flips prosecution charges onto the state itself.
Missing Years Inquiry — The documentary investigates Vergès' unexplained absence, revealing covert financial and operational activities.
Congo Crisis Failure — A paid mission to extract Moise Tshombe from prison ends in disappearance.
PFLP Covert Work — Vergès operates behind the lines for Wadie Haddad's Palestinian faction.
Eastern Espionage — Vergès expands his network into Eastern Europe, collaborating with international operatives.
Carlos Alliance — Direct partnership with Carlos the Jackal on intelligence missions.
France-Iran Mediation — Vergès serves as a backchannel intermediary in high-stakes diplomatic talks.
Klaus Barbie Trial — A landmark legal confrontation where Vergès challenges French historical narratives.
Legal Discrediting — Vergès equates Nazi occupation with French colonial rule to undermine the prosecution.
State Conflict — Direct adversarial relationship between Vergès and French judicial authorities.
Genoud Financial Network — The hidden economic backbone funding Vergès' controversial legal and operational work.
Client Funding — François Genoud provides consistent financial backing for Vergès' court cases.
Court Defenses — Genoud's money specifically supports the legal teams for Bréguet and Kopp.
Intelligence Exposure — State and archival forces converge to dismantle Vergès' covert operations.
Carlos Abduction — French intelligence captures Carlos, severing a key operational link.
Stasi File Release — Declassified East German documents publicly expose Vergès' past activities.
Historical Legacy — The documentary concludes with a broader assessment of Vergès' impact on legal and revolutionary history.
Legal Ethics Debate — Ongoing scholarly discussion regarding the morality of revolutionary defense tactics.
Documentary Conclusion — Final narrative framing that contextualizes Vergès within 20th-century geopolitics.
A documentary on Jacques Vergès, the controversial lawyer and former Free French Forces guerrilla, exploring how Vergès assisted, from the 1960s onwards, anti-imperialist terrorist cells operating in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Participants interviewed include Algerian nationalists Yacef Saadi, Zohra Drif, Djamila Bouhired and Abderrahmane Benhamida, Khmer Rouge members Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, once far-left activists Hans-Joachim Klein and Magdalena Kopp, terrorist Carlos the Jackal, lawyer Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, neo-Nazi Ahmed Huber, Palestinian politician Bassam Abu Sharif, Lebanese politician Karim Pakradouni, political cartoonist Siné, former spy Claude Moniquet, novelist and ghostwriter Lionel Duroy, and investigative journalist Oliver Schröm.
