Character Relationship Map: The Cop

Characters

• L'inspecteur Favenin (played by Michel Bouquet) — protagonist

  The disciplined but ruthless police inspector who returns to duty after suspension. He investigates the murder of a bar owner, pursues vigilantes with brutal, unorthodox methods, and clashes with corr...

• Hélène Dassa (played by Françoise Fabian) — protagonist

  The sister of the murdered bar owner who arrives to settle his affairs. She is violently attacked by the criminals' goons and later hidden at a friend's stud farm. She eventually confronts Favenin, un...

• Dan Rover (played by Gianni Garko) — supporting

  A former associate of the victim who seeks vigilante justice. He hides Hélène, orchestrates the assassination of the crime lord Tavernier with Viletti, and later provides a false alibi. After arrest,...

• Raymond Aulnay (played by Rufus) — supporting

  A colleague who provides a false alibi for Rover and Viletti, swearing they were playing cards with him. He endures police beatings to maintain the lie. Later, he tracks down Favenin to warn him of Ro...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Raymond Aulnay → Dan Rover (Alliance Colleague & False Alibi) — An accomplice providing legal cover for the murderers.
• L'inspecteur Favenin → Raymond Aulnay (Conflict Inspector & False Alibi Provider) — A corrupt colleague providing a fabricated alibi for the killers.
• L'inspecteur Favenin → Dan Rover (Conflict Inspector & Murder Suspect) — A relentless police inspector pursuing a vengeful assassin.
• L'inspecteur Favenin → Hélène Dassa (Narrative Investigator & Victim) — The lead detective investigating the murder of a local business owner.

Story Analysis

A police investigation into murder and corruption gradually becomes a moral collapse driven by revenge and coercive justice.

Plot Progression

1. A Murder Behind Protection — An inspector returns to duty and investigates a bar owner's murder. The case exposes a drug operation protected by police and politicians.
2. Violence Fuels Revenge — The victim's sister is attacked and the bar is destroyed. An old friend hides her and begins planning revenge against the crime lord.
3. The Rooftop Killing — Two former mercenaries arrange an alibi and assassinate the crime lord. Their escape ends in a gunfight that kills a policeman.
4. Justice Becomes Revenge — The inspector pursues the conspirators through coercion, shootings, and beatings. His methods increasingly resemble the criminal violence he investigates.
5. Resignation at the River — After another suspension, the inspector isolates himself. An escaped prisoner confronts him, is killed by police, and leaves the inspector to resign.