Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside

Hamid al-Bakr is a local, reclusive war veteran whose death acts as the inciting incident that drives the plot. He is a posthumously developed round character, initially presented as a decorated war hero, a Harki who fought for France, only to be revealed as a war criminal with a dark and violent history. This gradual uncovering of his past transforms him from the victim of a hate crime into a complex symbol of historical trauma and the deceptive nature of official narratives. The Croix de Guerre medal, which he keeps on his wall, symbolizes his attempts to hide his fraught past behind the mask of French patriotism and valor. He keeps to himself, rarely venturing into the village, and remains devoted to his son, Momu, and his grandson, Karim. He gives every appearance of being a quiet old man seeking peace in his final years. This perception aligns with the official narrative of Harkis as loyal soldiers who were often marginalized and poorly treated by the nation they served. His brutal murder, which includes a swastika carved into his chest, initially positions him as the victim of a racist hate crime, reinforcing the image of him as a sympathetic war hero.

Bruno’s investigation systematically deconstructs this identity, emphasizing the novel’s thematic interest in The Impact of the Past on the Present. The discovery that Hamid al-Bakr is an alias for Hussein Boudiaf, a former soccer player who became a squad leader in the Vichy regime’s brutal Force Mobile, redefines his character as a war criminal and the murder as a calculated act of vengeance carried out by Resistance veterans whose families he once terrorized. The discovery inverts the Croix de Guerre from a symbol of heroism to one of deception. Hamid’s arc suggests that the present is not separate from the past, but directly impacted by it. His decision to return to the very region where he committed his crimes, driven by a desire to be with his family, proves to be a fatal miscalculation, suggesting that historical debts eventually come due.

Captain Duroc of the gendarmerie serves as a foil to Bruno and an antagonist to the community of St. Denis. As a flat and static character, he represents the rigid, impersonal, and ultimately ineffective nature of centralized state authority when confronted with local specificity. An outsider from Normandy who seems to do everything “by the book” (17), Duroc’s approach to policing is based on formal rules and hierarchy, contrasting sharply with Bruno’s relationship-based methods. This clash highlights the limitations of Duroc’s approach, underscoring the inadequacy of his style of law enforcement. He attempts to crack down on the “damned hooliganism” (34) of the market vandals by demanding names and arrests, but Bruno easily outmaneuvers him by appealing to the practical consequences of such an approach. During the riot at the victory parade, Duroc’s response is to protect the dignitaries and retreat into the Mairie, while Bruno takes command of the chaotic situation among the people in the square. Duroc’s actions, or lack thereof, demonstrate a failure to understand or effectively manage the community he is assigned to police, underscoring the cultural differences between Paris and rural France.

Inspector Isabelle Perrault of the Police Nationale functions as both a professional ally and a romantic interest for Bruno. As a round and static character, she embodies a modern, capable, and ambitious form of French law enforcement that contrasts with the more traditional environment of St. Denis. Her arrival introduces an external perspective on the murder investigation and provides Bruno with an intellectual equal. Isabelle is defined by her competence. She is an intelligent and efficient detective, adept at using technology and navigating the police bureaucracy. Her professionalism is matched by her physical strength and athletic prowess, demonstrated when she uses martial arts to rescue Bruno during the riot.

Initially, Isabelle’s urban sophistication and by-the-book training align her more with Duroc’s world than Bruno’s. However, she quickly comes to appreciate Bruno’s methods, recognizing that “[l]ocal knowledge is a wonderful thing” (74). This mutual respect forms the basis of their effective partnership and budding romance. Isabelle acts as a bridge between Bruno’s world and the official investigation, and her presence helps draw out Bruno’s personal history, particularly his memories of Bosnia, offering him a chance for a new romantic connection after a long period of emotional solitude.

Gérard Mangin, the mayor of St. Denis, is a mentor figure for Bruno and the political guardian of the town. A former political operative in Paris with deep connections to the national government, he is a savvy and effective leader who embodies the ideal of a local patriarch. Like Bruno, he is a protector of the town’s identity and traditions, using his political influence to secure grants for St. Denis and shield it from negative outside forces, highlighting the importance of preserving cultural identity and heritage. He fully supports Bruno’s extralegal efforts to protect the market vendors from EU regulations and demonstrates a nuanced understanding of justice. His relationship with Bruno is akin to that of a father and son, as he hired Bruno on the recommendation of his own son, a former army comrade of Bruno’s. The mayor’s political acumen and Bruno’s on-the-ground knowledge prove a successful alliance.

Mohammed “Momu” al-Bakr and his son Karim are minor characters who represent the integration of North African immigrants into French provincial life. Momu is a respected mathematics teacher, and Karim is the town’s rugby star and the owner of the Café des Sports. They are well-liked and fully embedded in the social fabric of St. Denis. Their lives are thrown into turmoil by the murder of their father and grandfather, Hamid, revealing a hidden legacy of war crimes. Their grief and confusion point to the inherited nature of historical trauma by subsequent generations. Bruno’s ultimate decision to conceal the truth about Hamid’s past is an act of protection, aimed at preserving Momu and Karim’s secure and respected place within the community and preventing them from being tainted by the past actions of their patriarch.

Jean Pierre, the bicycle shop owner, and Bachelot, the shoemaker, are two elderly Resistance veterans who function collectively as agents of vigilante justice. For 60 years, they have been bitter enemies, a division stemming from their allegiance to rival Resistance factions, the communists and the Gaullists. Their long-standing, silent feud is a town fixture, symbolizing the unresolved tensions that lie beneath the surface of commemorative unity. Their recognition of Hamid as one of their former tormentors from the Force Mobile leads them to form an unlikely alliance to execute Hamid in an act of extralegal justice, underscoring the text’s thematic examination of the limitations of traditional law enforcement in delivering justice. Bruno’s decision not to arrest them in the novel’s conclusion suggests that for certain historical crimes, vigilante vengeance is the only available form of closure. Their joint action allows them to overcome decades of animosity, resolving a personal conflict by confronting a greater historical evil.

Richard Gelletreau, the son of the local doctor, and his girlfriend Jacqueline Courtemine serve as red herrings in the murder investigation. As privileged but disaffected teenagers, they become involved with the far-right Front National, making them the immediate and most logical suspects in what appears to be a racist killing. Their trysts in the woods near Hamid’s cottage place them at the scene, and their lies to the police further deepen suspicion. Their storyline introduces the contemporary political tensions surrounding immigration and nationalism in France, but their involvement is ultimately a misdirection. They are guilty of drug possession and political extremism, but not of murder. Their role in the narrative is to highlight the surface-level conflicts of modern France, while the true source of the violence is revealed to be rooted in the much deeper, unresolved conflicts of World War II.