Bac Nord: the true story of the police scandal that inspired Cédric Jimenez’s film

Immersed in the northern districts of Marseille through a team from the anti-crime squad crossing the yellow line, Bac Nord is Cédric Jimenez’s new film to be discovered in theaters. Incarnated by François Civil, Karim Leklou and Gilles Lellouche, the cops of the North BAC of the feature film seek to improve their results while the crime rate continues to increase.

They then adapt their questionable methods to eradicate delinquency until the justice system turns against them. This punchy action thriller, which recalls Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables in its production, is inspired by a real affair that caused a scandal nine years ago.

The BAC Nord affair

In October 2012, the case of “BAC North” broke out and incriminated members of the anti-crime brigade of the Phocaean city designated then as “rascals” and as “an organized gang” which would have committed aggravated violence and extortions, as reported The world.

These police officers from the BAC Nord de Marseille were the actors in a politico-judicial media scandal aimed at cleaning up the police won by “a real gangrene” according to Jacques Dallest, the public prosecutor of Marseille at the time.

Jérôme MACE / Chifoumi Productions

Seven years later, the most serious charges were dropped and eighteen members of the BAC at the time were sent for correctional charges for drug trafficking and theft in meetings by a person holding public authority in the exercise of their duties. functions. This story made a lot of noise at the time and Cédric Jimenez, originally from Marseille, was immediately interested in the facts:

“The media show was such that I felt the need to know what had happened. How far had these cops crossed the yellow line? But for that, you had to have access to the police, to the file. Which was obviously impossible. When we decided to work together, with Hugo Sélignac, my producer, I always had this matter in mind.

It was there that he said to me ‘Wait, I know someone in Marseille who could introduce us to the real cops of the case’. And that’s what happened. I was able to meet all of the BAC North at the time, to talk to these men. “

Jérôme MACE / Chifoumi Productions

Cédric Jimenez, who was able to count on interviews with the real police officers at the heart of the scandal to accompany the technical team and the actors throughout the conception of the film, believes that the media slaughter was disproportionate even if their actions obviously had to to be judged:

“When the prosecutor dropped the main charges, there was not a word in the media as their arrest had been in the headlines for several days. Suddenly, they were happy to be heard and to tell how they were. got there. They did bullshit, that’s indisputable, but the media coverage it took was disproportionate. “

For Bac Nord, which evokes sensitive subjects, Cédric Jimenez has decided not to condemn or exonerate the police or to legitimize their acts: “Of course, these cops act under the aegis of the police, but ultimately they are closer to the guys from the neighborhoods than to the body politic which has never set foot there. I have met a lot of residents for whom these cops are part of everyday life: they rub shoulders, interact, learn to live together in a very specific context. “

The “BAC North” affair was a way for Cédric Jimenez to tell a thriller thrilling at human height and to ask questions about the excesses of our society and instances of power:

“Bac Nord is not a pro or anti-cop film. And my role is not to replace that of justice. I simply wanted to tell the story of three men and expose, through their profession and this that they have crossed, the faults of a system; a system where those who are at the bottom of the ladder are systematically sacrificed. A system which ignores its officials and which forgets the inhabitants of the cities. “

A case still in progress

Almost ten years after the …