Arsene Le Pen: The Historical Truth Behind the Netflix Series

Francophiles who stay in Israel and miss Paris? You can go to Netflix to get some footage of the City of Lights, which will help overcome the longing a little. We had the Emily in Paris – A series with beautiful photography combined with a plot and acting that, to put it mildly, are controversial…

The series “10%” (or in English, Call My Agent) was also broadcast. There we got an intelligent plot and excellent acting, but the amount of footage from the City of Lights was limited and most of the series was filmed in the office where most of the plot takes place.

Finally, Netflix has managed to bring a series that combines great shots of Paris with good acting and a plot that doesn't shame intelligence. I'm talking about the series, of course. Lupin, based on the stories of Arsene Le Pen, starring Omar Sy, known to us from the successful film “Connected to Life” (which I wrote about in an article Recommended French films for quarantine days).

If you haven't heard about the series yet, here's its "coming soon" (I chose a video with English dubbing so that those who don't know French will be able to understand what it is about. In fact, you can watch the series in French with Hebrew subtitles):

Without giving away too many spoilers, the plot of the series revolves around a gentleman thief named Essien Diop, who draws inspiration from the adventures of Arsene Lupin and sets out to take revenge on millionaire Pellegrini, who framed his father and caused him to commit suicide.

The revenge begins when Assan steals a magnificent necklace, which belonged to Marie Antoinette and now belongs to the same millionaire, straight from the Louvre Museum. From here, every Francophile must ask himself – who was this Arsène Lupin, who inspired the series’ hero, and did the necklace that Assan stole really exist or was it an invention of the series’ writers?

We will discover the answer to these questions immediately, and the path to it lies in a time elevator that will take us to the 19th century and later straight to the time of Marie Antoinette.

Arsene Le Pen and the story behind him

The full name of the series shown on Netflix is ​​Lupin: dans l'ombre d'Arsène or, translated into Hebrew, Lupin in Arsène's Shadow. To me, the protagonist of the series is much more reminiscent of the Count of Monte Cristo, but dealing with the fictional character of Arsène Lupin requires us to explain to those who do not know who this gentleman thief was, and how he came into the world.

Long before the character of Arsene Le Pen was created, everyone was talking France About Rocambole, the hero of the books of the French writer Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail (1829-1871). Rocambole was a witty adventurer who began his life on the wrong side of the law but later changed his ways and began helping people and fighting evil.

The series of books dealing with the adventures of Rocambole was written during the reign of Napoleon III and was a huge success. The success was so great that it gave rise to the word rocambolesque, which means a fantastic and surprising adventure story. Ponson de Troyes even took inspiration from the character he created and during the Franco-Prussian War he fled to his estate near the city of Orléans and waged a guerrilla war against the Germans from there (without much success). He was eventually forced to flee to Bordeaux where he died in early 1871, but was buried inMontmartre Cemetery In Paris.

The character of Roquemboulle was an inspiration to many writers throughout Europe. One of them was Arthur Conan Doyle, the father of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Holmes' character was so successful that it overshadowed the character of Roquemboulle and other adventure book heroes published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The editor of the magazine Je Sais Tout (or in Hebrew “I know everything”) was looking for an “appropriate French response” and turned to the French writer Maurice Leblanc (Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc 1864-1941), who had previously been known as a short story writer (his main sources of inspiration were naturalist writers such as Maupassant and Flaubert).

Leblanc rose to the challenge and created the character of Arsene Lupin, a gentleman thief who could quickly switch identities, infiltrate high society and steal its jewels. In short, he was a kind of French Robin Hood, without the charity to the poor but with much more class.

The first story starring Arsène Lupin was serialized in the magazine starting in July 1905 and became an immediate success. About a year after its release, another story was published in which he meets Sherlock Holmes himself (the story's title is "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late"). Arthur Conan Doyle did not approve of the use of his character and following a copyright lawsuit, the famous detective returned to the Arsène Lupin stories, this time as Arlock Holmes.

Many years later (in 2008, to be precise), after all copyrights on these two characters had expired, Frogwares released the computer adventure game Sherlock Holmes Vs Arsène Lupin, in which the famous detective tries to prevent the famous thief from robbing a series of famous works of art from museums in England. Here is a short video of the game:

https://youtu.be/K2w2hxc-sCE

If you would like to see if Sherlock Holmes is up to his task and manages to stop Arsene Lupin, you are welcome to take a look at the full video that shows the entire game from beginning to end:

Following the success, Maurice Leblanc devoted most of his time to writing stories starring Arsene Le Pen, and by the time he died in 1941, he had published 21 books starring the famous thief. Arsene Le Pen made Leblanc a wealthy and respected man, and he even received the Legion of Honor from the French government following the success of his books.

Unsurprisingly, following the successful book series, Arsène Lupin appeared in several films. Here is the latest film from 2004 starring Romain Duris:

And finally, it is impossible to talk about Arsene Le Pen and not mention the famous poem by Jacques Dutronc:

It is not surprising that Netflix decided to take his famous character and make it the basis for the series Le Pen, which was released to the general public in January 2021. Although the series is not about the character of Arsène Lupin himself, the protagonist of the series is influenced by him and acts exactly like him.

Since I don't want to give spoilers to anyone who hasn't watched the series yet, let me move on with you to the second "star" of the series, namely Marie Antoinette's famous necklace.

Please enter the time elevator again, we are returning to the 18th century.

The Queen's Diamond Necklace Scandal

Before we start talking about that string, which stars in the series Lupin, it's important for me to say that her story and the huge scandal that accompanied her is long and complicated, and contains quite a few details and people. In order not to make this article too long, I decided to simplify the story a little and forgo some of the details, in order to bring you the affair in the simplest and easiest way to understand.

It all began when Louis XV decided to surprise his mistress Madame du Barry and order her a magnificent diamond necklace at an astronomical price (about 15 million euros today). Unfortunately for her and those involved in the craft, the king died in 15 without having had time to pay the goldsmiths Charles Auguste Bohmer and Paul Bassange.

Naturally, these two goldsmiths turned to Marie Antoinette, the wife of the new King Louis XVI and a well-known fashionista, and was offered the diamond necklace. The queen flatly refused to buy the expensive jewel, as she claimed that the money could have been used for more useful things, such as buying ships for the French navy. Some argue that the reason for the refusal was not the queen's frugality, but the fact that the necklace was intended for Madame du Barry, whom she detested.

As a result of the Queen of France's refusal, the two jewelers found themselves in a huge problem. They had invested a lot of money in the diamond necklace and even went into debt. If they had dismantled the necklace and sold its diamonds, they would have lost quite a bit of money, but at that time, few could afford to buy the necklace in its entirety. As a desperate measure, they offered a lot of money to anyone who could help them sell the necklace, and this is where Madame de La Mote (Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy comtesse de La Mote 1756-1791) came into the picture.

The plot begins

Jeanne de la Motte Valois was a distant descendant of the illegitimate son of King Charles IX (reigned 9-1560) and Marie Touchet (1574-1549). When the lady was not engaged in swindling, she warmed the bed of some of the most important people at court, including the Cardinal de Rohan (Louis René Édouard de Rohan 1638-1734), a descendant ofThe Rohan family the famous

The same cardinal had previously been the French ambassador to Austria and had managed to fall out with both the Empress Maria Theresa and her daughter, Marie Antoinette. Now, all the cardinal wanted was to win back the queen's affection. Jeanne de la Motte decided to take advantage of the jewelers' desire to sell the diamond necklace to the highest bidder and the cardinal's desire to get closer to the queen. The result was a daring plan, which even Arsène Lupin himself would have been happy to adopt.

Jeanne manages to convince the cardinal that she is close to Marie Antoinette and that she can mediate between them. The cardinal begins to send letters to the queen, while Jeanne replies in forged Marie Antoinette's handwriting. The cardinal does not notice the forgery and the fact that in official letters the queen signs only her first name (the letters he received were signed "Marie Antoinette de la France") and begins to believe that the queen will eventually forgive him.

The climax of the plot seems to have been taken from a Mozart comic opera. Jeanne de Valois makes the Cardinal believe that the Queen will meet him in the gardens. Palace of Versailles, while the actual queen was a prostitute who resembled Marie Antoinette in appearance. During the meeting, the “queen” told the cardinal that she was very interested in buying the famous diamond necklace but was afraid to do so directly, so as not to be perceived as wasteful at a time when the economic situation in France was dire.

Cardinal de Rohan agreed to buy the diamond necklace on behalf of the Queen for approximately 20 million livres, with the understanding that the sum would ultimately be paid by the Queen. The necklace passed to Jeanne, who was supposed to give it to the Queen but instead immediately sold the stones on the black market.

A few months later, the goldsmiths asked the Queen to arrange payment for the necklace. A surprised Marie Antoinette announced that she had never ordered the piece of jewelry. The fraud was discovered, and a scandal broke out that would destroy what little remained of Marie Antoinette's image.

The Scandal, Trial, and Mysterious End of Jean de la Motte Valois

Following the goldsmiths' complaint that they had not received the money promised to them by the Cardinal de Rohan, the churchman was summoned to the Palace of Versailles. After a brief conversation during which he claimed that the queen had asked him to buy the necklace in her name, he was arrested and thrown into the Bastille. Following the arrest, an investigation began during which Jeanne de la Motte was arrested along with other people who had collaborated with her, and a few months later the trial of all those involved began.

If the trial was supposed to clear the queen's name, it achieved exactly the opposite. The Cardinal de Rohan managed to be acquitted (in part because he was on close terms with his judges), leading the French to believe that it was the queen who had taken advantage of the cardinal's innocence to obtain the precious necklace.

As a result, public opinion, which had not previously been particularly inclined towards the Queen of France, became very hostile. This hatred, which was expressed in endless pamphlets and pamphlets, resulted in theMarie Antoinette had tea on the steps of the guillotine. Few Parisians shed a tear for her.

Unlike the Cardinal de Rouen, Jeanne de la Motte was found guilty at trial and sentenced to imprisonment and to have the letter V (abbreviation for Voleuse or in Hebrew thief) burned on her shoulder. After about a year, Jeanne managed to escape from prison disguised as a boy and managed to reach London, where in 1789 she published her memoirs, which constitute a scathing indictment of Marie Antoinette.

In 1791, Jeanne found herself unexpectedly killed after falling from a London hotel window, where she had been hiding from her many creditors. Was it an accident or did someone close to the king and queen make sure to silence her forever? We will probably never know the answer. The rosary, in any case, is lost forever, but if you would like to see a reconstruction of it, you can do so by visitingChateau de Bertaille (Chateau de Breteuil).

Places in Paris that appear in the series Lupin

One of the best things about this series is that it's set in Paris. And there's nothing more fun than visiting places that appeared in your favorite series, right?

List the main locations in Paris where the first season of the series was filmed:

The Louvre Museum

This is where the Queen's necklace came from (which looks completely different from the original, by the way) and from here it is also stolen by Esen, the series' protagonist (I won't tell you how it was done, of course). A significant part of the first episode of the series takes place in this museum and the photographs taken from the inside and especially from the outside are simply wonderful.

If you would like to read more about this museum, you are welcome to visit the article The Louvre Museum in Paris – how was it born and how can it survive?.

Luxembourg Gardens

It is in this garden that the series' protagonist meets the daughter of Pellegrini, the man responsible for all his troubles. The gardens were photographed in the fall, and I'm sure many Francophiles will delight in their unique fall color.

You are welcome to read the article. Luxembourg Gardens – A walking tour of Paris’ most beloved garden.

Museum of Miracles of Camondo

The creators of the series used this charming building, which was built in 1914 as a replica of the Trianon Palace, to transform it into the mansion where Mr. Pellegrini, the enemy of the series' protagonist, lives. Today, it houses the Musée des Miracles de Camondo, one of my favorite museums in Paris and you can read about it inThis article.

Monceau Park

This is where the series' protagonist and the woman who will become his wife and the mother of his son spend their time. There is no doubt that this is an excellent choice of location, as it is one of the most romantic gardens in Paris. You can read more about this magical park in the article Parc Monceau – A trip to my favorite garden in Paris.

Municipality of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris

Here, Essen Diop manages to kidnap the police inspector who was responsible for framing his father. It is a charming building, built during the reign of Napoleon III, and the garden directly opposite is also definitely worth a visit. If you are already there during your next trip to Paris, I highly recommend following the itinerary. Madame de Savignier, which starts not far from there.

The streets near the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul

Not far from this church, a chase begins, which ends on the rooftops of Paris, in which the hero of the series escapes from a murderer, who is sent to kill him. If you want to visit this untouristed but charming neighborhood, I recommend the itinerary Suddenly a man comes out of the Gare du Nord and starts walking..

Park Hyatt Paris Vendome Hotel

This luxurious hotel, located just off Place Vendôme, was where Le Pen's son was held. If you happen to fancy staying there, you can get more information about it and book a room via This link.

Bute Chaumont Park

In this park, the hero of the series was asked to steal his wife's bracelet and there, in a temple located on the top of the cliff, he gave the bracelet to the daughter of Pellegrini (the main villain of the series). You can read about this garden through the article Parc de But Chaumont – from a landfill to a wonderful park.

Musee d'Orsay

This is where Pissarro's famous painting was stolen (or not stolen). If you would like to read more about this wonderful museum, you are welcome to visit the article Musee d'Orsay – How to build a perfect museum.

The Catacombs of Paris

This is where Le Pen and his friend hid from the police who were pursuing them. The entrance to the catacombs is from Denfert Rochereau Square and if you would like to visit there, you are welcome to click on theLink this.

Châtelet Theatre

The “final act” of the series takes place in the Chatela Theater, in which the good guys win and the bad guys lose (sorry for the spoiler, but you didn’t think anything else would happen in a series like this, did you?).

Speaking of the Chatelaine Theater, let me recommend a film that, like Lupin, also ends there, called “The Concert”:

Looking for what else to do in Paris?

• If you have finished visiting all the places that appeared in the series Lupin and are looking for additional travel routes, you are welcome to visit the page The itineraries Site.
• If you are looking for information about attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping and anything else you can do in Paris, you are more than welcome to visitParis for the Traveler, My Complete Guide to the City of Lights.