Sofia Belkacem

**Sofia Belkacem** is a major character in *Lupin*. She is played by Shirine Boutella.

A lieutenant in the police department, Belkacem often works together with Romain Laugier and Youssef Guédira.

## History

### Part 1

Belkacem is one of the police officers assigned to the case of the Queen's Necklace. She is involved when Juliette Pellegrini calls for assistance after receiving Assane Diop’s anonymous note, and is present when Assane meets Juliette at Luxembourg Gardens, posing as a jogger. Later, Juliette mocks Belkacem for taking notes while Romain Laugier is attempting to question her.

While Belkacem treats Youssef Guédira with respect, she still thinks that his theory about the connection between the crimes they are investigating and the Arsène Lupin stories is frivolous nonsense. Belkacem participates in the search for Commissioner Gabriel Dumont after his kidnapping; although initially reluctant to believe Guédira’s notion that he is still at the town hall, she and Laugier choose to follow his hunch and find out that he is right.

Along with Laugier and Guédira, Belkacem presents Dumont with the idea that his kidnapper and the Louvre thief are the same person, pointing out that Dumont had overseen the original case of the theft of the Queen's Necklace in 1995. Dumont allows the officers to begin gathering evidence, but after several witness sketches are made, he claims that none of them look like his kidnapper and tells them that the two cases are unconnected. Belkacem, like Guédira, suspects that Dumont is lying, but unlike her co-worker is not willing to follow through on the lead, particularly not after Dumont removes Guédira from the case entirely.

On December 11, Guédira tells Belkacem that he will not be coming into the station, claiming to be sick. Laugier is suspicious of the veracity of Guédira's illness, and Belkacem remarks that to her, Guédira always looks sick. She and Laugier want to investigate Léonard Koné after he is found on the Le Havre train with one of the diamonds from the necklace, but before they get a chance, Dumont tells them that the Le Havre police have released him after discovering convincing evidence that he has been framed.

### Part 2

Shortly after being stopped by Dumont from going to Normandy, Belkacem receives a phone call from Guédira, who reveals that he is in the town of Bourneville with “Paul Sernine” and needs assistance. Belkacem is stunned; when Assane comes within earshot, Guédira, who has claimed that he is talking to his wife, awkwardly tells Belkacem that he loves her and hangs up. Although confused, Belkacem leaves Paris and drives into the countryside, tracking the location of Guédira’s phone.

Belkacem arrives at the abandoned mansion just as, unbeknownst to her, Guédira and Raoul Diop are leaving in another car. Assane still has Guédira’s phone, and as such Belkacem is able to track him down. She finds him wailing in distress in front of a burning BMW and claiming that his son is inside. Convinced that he is simply performing another elaborate stunt, Belkacem decides to arrest him.

The following morning, Belkacem calls several Gendarmerie officers in for assistance. When they examine the remains of the destroyed BMW, they find nothing but a soda can in the trunk. Additionally, there is no sign of Guédira. Belkacem drives back to Paris with a Gendarmerie officer named Hector. Assane is in the back seat of the car, wearing handcuffs. Belkacem is irritated by Assane’s constant pleas for information as to what she found in the BMW. Finally becoming fed up, she shows him the soda can in a plastic bag, yelling that it was the only thing that was there. Assane is immensely relieved, as this proves to him that Raoul is still alive.

Hector stops at a service station to fill up the car’s tank. Assane, having fully regained his composure, tells Belkacem that he needs to use the bathroom. Belkacem orders him to hold it in, but Assane tells her that he is unable to do so. Frustrated, Belkacem agrees to let Assane enter the bathroom, instructing Hector to keep a close eye on him. While paying, Belkacem becomes aware that something is wrong. After finding Hector handcuffed to a pipe in the bathroom, she tries to chase after Assane, but he successfully shoots one of her car's tires and escapes in a stolen vehicle.

Some time later, Belkacem and Laugier interrogate Hubert Pellegrini after his wife reports his crimes from 1995. Initially, Hubert is somewhat uncooperative with regards to their questioning, but when the conversation turns to “Paul Sernine,” he immediately supplies them with the name “Assane Diop.” Hubert is again not forthcoming when Laugier and Belkacem ask him about his relationship Léonard. Soon afterward, Hubert receives a phone call from Albert Fontan, the minister of the interior. Later, Laugier reveals to Belkacem and Guédira that Fontan forced him to let Hubert go.

Now knowing Assane’s name, Guédira and Belkacem bring Claire in for questioning. Claire claims that she does not know where Assane lives, which both Belkacem and Guédira struggle to believe. They ask Claire about the undercover policemen encountered by Guédira and Raoul outside of her apartment on December 12; Claire denies having any knowledge of who they were, and states that she is just happy to have her son back.

Shortly afterwards, however, Belkacem is given Assane’s address by Pascal Oblet. After arriving, they find Léonard’s lifeless body on the ground, with Assane nowhere to be found. In the aftermath of Léonard’s murder, Belkacem compliments Guédira, pointing out that he had been right about everything with regards to the Lupin connection. Guédira, however, is unhappy, explaining that Arsène Lupin never kills and that this has compromised the logical integrity of his theory. Belkacem reminds Guédira that Assane had Lupin memorabilia all over his apartment, and that Lupin is a fictional character, while Assane is a real person.

Dumont sends Belkacem and Laugier to Benjamin Ferel’s shop to collect evidence. While there, Belkacem finds a card with the address of a storage unit. When the two officers arrive on the scene and manage to enter the unit, they find that Assane and Benjamin have already fled through a secret underground passage. Belkacem and Laugier decide to follow them, and find themselves confronted with dark alleys filled with piles of bones, which unnerve Belkacem. Eventually, the two encounter a tour group and realize that they are in the Catacombs of Paris. Laugier calls for assistance and the site is cleared of tourists, but the police are unable to catch Assane and Benjamin.

The next day, Belkacem receives news that an imprint on Léonard’s coat suggests that his murderer wore a size 42 shoe, far too small for Assane at 46. Immediately afterward, Guédira shows Belkacem and Laugier footage of Assane’s questioning of Dumont. Conversing in the interrogation room, the three examine the evidence and conclude that Dumont has engaged in conspiracy and corruption. They agree to attend the Pellegrinis’ charity concert in order to arrest the commissioner.

Laugier, Belkacem and Guédira gain access to the Théâtre du Châtelet after demonstrating that they are police officers. Once inside, Laugier keeps a close eye on Dumont. When they see him leaving in the middle of the performance, they follow him discreetly, eventually encountering him pointing a gun at Assane. The three ambush Dumont, and Laugier places him in handcuffs. Belkacem orders Assane to stay where he is, but Guédira encourages her to let him go.

After the concert is finished, Belkacem and Guédira grin at each other as they watch Hubert, whom Guédira has managed to arrest using a recorded confession sent to him by Assane, and Dumont being driven to the police station.

## Personality and relationships

Of the three officers on the team trying to track down the Queen's Necklace, Belkacem is quickest to jump into action in any given situation, complementing Romain Laugier’s emphasis on rules, protocol and procedure, as well as Youssef Guédira’s more theoretical outlook. However, she struggled in her pursuit of Assane Diop, as she was often unable to anticipate his movements.

Belkacem tends to be blunt, confrontational and somewhat quick to anger. She has a fairly aggressive questioning style, seen clearly in her behavior during the interrogation of Hubert Pellegrini. Possibly due to the fact that she had Assane in custody in Normandy before he eventually escaped, Belkacem was highly determined to arrest him, even after she was made aware of his innocence regarding the murder of Léonard Koné. However, when the officers cornered Assane at the Pelleginis’ concert, Belkacem let Assane go at Guédira's urging.

As a lieutenant, Belkacem ranks below Laugier (a captain) but above Guédira (a detective). As such, she has good working relationships with both of them, and occasionally mediates between them. Belkacem and Guédira appear to be particularly close; she was the one whom he texted to mention that he was sick on the day of the Arsène Lupin festival in Étretat, and he eventually called her to ask for assistance after he found Assane there. As Guédira had claimed to Assane that he was talking to his wife, he was forced to tell Belkacem that he loved her, which she found odd. Although Belkacem initially disdained Guédira’s ideas about the Arsène Lupin connection, she eventually admitted that he was right about everything,

## Quotes

> "Seriously, Youssef, what is this? What’s next, D’Artagnan and the three little pigs?"
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> ― Belkacem is skeptical of Guédira's ideas
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> "You shouldn’t answer. He’s trying to confuse us, but this time it won’t work."
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> ― Belkacem tells Hector to ignore Assane's pestering for information about Raoul
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> "You spent all your time trying to tell us that Assane Diop was the re-incarnation of Arsène Lupin. And now that we know you’re right, you act all depressed."
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> ― Belkacem is confused by Guédira's moodiness following the discovery of Assane's apartment
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## Trivia

* Belkacem is ranked as the 9th most popular character in the series on the online tracking platform TV Time.

## Appearances

Part 1
* *Chapter 1*
* *Chapter 2*
* *Chapter 3*
* *Chapter 5*

Part 2
* *Chapter 6*
* *Chapter 7*
* *Chapter 9*
* *Chapter 10*