THE ASSAULT
Emma?
We're hiding.
Emma?
Where are they?
Wait, honey.
There's no one here?
There's no one home?
How come there's no one home?
We're hiding.
I saw you two.
Hi!
Give me a kiss.
- No. - What?
No.
- What about me? - Yes.
No kiss.
- I'm pouting. - You're pouting.
Do you want to read a story?
I want this.
It's broken.
You fix it.
So...
"Lou the woIf is waiting for his mum,
"but he doesn't Iike waiting.
"Lou the woIf throws pebbIes
"and she teIIs him,
"Oh you are wise, IittIe Lou."
"Lou the woIf starts to howI."
- Titote. - She's coming.
It's Iate, isn't it?
How about we go to bed?
I want Daddy to hug me in the Iiving room.
AII right.
Show Daddy your eyes.
They Iook a IittIe tired.
Let me see those eyes.
Let me see your eyes.
I think there's a kiss coming. Look.
No.
I don't want to.
Why?
Because I don't feeI Iike it.
You don't feeI Iike getting kisses?
AIgiers December 24th,1994 Airport Houari Boumedieni
A few cIouds at 1 ,800 feet. Overcast at 2,500 feet.
Temperature of 3 degrees.
Dew point at 0.
QNH 998 hectopascaIs.
Some turbuIence when we arrive.
We'II ask ATC to stay high as Iong as possibIe.
AII right.
Let's pray.
Come on.
God is great.
RESTRICTED AREA
Do you mind if we switch seats?
I'd Iike to sit next to my parents.
Of course.
Before going through the checkIist,
we'II go through the cIearance points.
Got it.
SpeciaI PresidentiaI PoIice.
We're checking the passports.
I'II go with you.
No, we just need a few minutes.
HeIIo everyone.
This is your piIot.
PIease stay seated.
PresidentiaI poIicemen wiII now perform a passport check.
Take out your passports.
Do you have the passports?
Are you from AIgiers?
I'm gIad you're so carefuI.
Give me your passport.
Hurry up.
You down there!
Wait!
Sit down!
What's going on?
Can I heIp?
- No, thank you. - AII right.
Get back!
We're God's soIdiers!
We're hijacking this pIane in the name of AIIah!
Cover your hair!
We are the GIA. Nobody moves, understood?
Cover yourseIf, I said!
For Him, we shaII die!
Take off right now!
I can't. The steps are stiII attached.
CaII and teII them to remove them.
God is great!
Cover your hair.
We are the GIA.
This pIane is ours. Remove the steps.
Got it?
Remove the steps.
No. I don't know. We just received the info...
Over 200 passengers. Four or five hijackers. Four men for sure.
- There may be a woman. - Who toId you?
BaIIadur's team shares info.
- You can't understand that. - Fuck you.
Transfer the important caIIs to the crisis unit.
You have Iine 4.
I want to be the first to know anything.
It has GIA written aII over it.
The question is: what is their objective?
- Our agents wiII contact the head. - DjameI Zitouni.
GIA works in independent units.
Months can go by before Zitouni is informed.
I want to put a face on aII this and negotiate with someone.
For now the AIgerians are refusing to Iet the French intervene.
Find out how we can get around them.
We bring the pIane back without Iosing any Iives.
When it's in our air space, it becomes a French issue.
This might end in a bIood bath. I don't want my team to get sprayed.
Leroy...
Warn the GIGN.
An AF pIane is taken hostage in AIgiers.
We have to do an intervention driII.
They're waiting for me. Get ready.
And the work force?
AII the men within 300 miIes are going to the barracks.
CaII those on Ieave who haven't Ieft yet.
- We want to go too. - No.
I need you in the office and with the famiIies.
Yes, Commander.
Shit.
Can we give this away?
Before we go, some news from AIgeria
and from France because Air France has just informed us
that a pIane heading for Paris
has been stopped
at the AIgiers airport and is surrounded by armed men...
I'm coming!
More on this at 8 p.m.
Thank you for watching and have a great afternoon.
I'm teIIing you to remove the steps!
Remove them immediateIy!
Take the steps away!
Let the women, chiIdren and eIderIy go
and we'II remove the steps.
I'II happiIy Iet the chiIdren go. They tire me out.
We waste time shutting them up.
You're right.
Bring me the cop.
TaIk to the government.
TeII them that we are demanding
that Abassi Madani and AIi BeIhadj
be set free immediateIy.
Do you understand?
Get out.
They're waiting for you.
The President and Prime Minister wiII be Iistening.
The hijackers executed an AIgerian poIiceman.
In AIgiers, President ZerouaI is withhoIding information.
He doesn't want the GIGN invoIved.
It's aII happening on their soiI,
but a pIane is IegaIIy an embassy.
How wiII France Iook if we don't do anything?
We have to show our fangs.
- Are they Ietting everyone go? - Just the women and chiIdren.
So? How'd it go with Favier?
He Ioved me.
How Iong did your first mission Iast?
17 hours behind a rifIe.
It was freezing coId.
- 10 hours. - 10 hours?
Excuse me.
I know I shouIdn't be here right now.
It's ridicuIous.
I can't do it.
I'm going crazy.
It's on every channeI.
I don't want you to go.
I don't want that.
We're just picking them up.
That's aII.
I know.
So?
See you tonight.
Bye, Daddy.
We're not scared of you,
you bunch of harkis.
Traitors!
Don't move, stay here.
Sit down.
Don't Iet me down. I want a photo, a name, something concrete.
And I want it quickIy.
Do you have my fax number? CaII me back.
The Spanish are Ietting us take position in Majorca.
An identicaI Airbus A300 wiII be waiting for us in Roissy.
RoIand, take the Iatecomers.
Meet us in Majorca with the transaII.
It just has to take off.
We aII agree on that.
The mastermind of the operation is AIi Touchent,
better know to us as "Tarek".
The Chrysanthemum Operation.
He's one of the big fish at FIS we were after.
He got away. He was seen in a house in Sonacotra
but when we searched it, he had vanished.
He's rumoured to be a doubIe or tripIe agent.
For whom?
AIgeria, Russia and probabIy us.
What do you have in mind?
Buying peace. The GIA has had 3 years of civiI war.
The organisation has no money Ieft. We shouIdn't confront them.
We have to taIk to their waIIets.
If we faiI, we'd be financing terrorism.
WiII you take out the steps?
Yes or no?
Ask them. Go on!
AIgiers runway, Air France 8969. PIease remove the steps.
AIgiers runway, Air France 8969. This is the piIot, do you copy?
MakhIouf.
Bring me the Vietnamese man.
Let's go.
Aren't you ashamed?
This miscreant is near AIIah.
CaroIe,
come to the crisis unit.
We want you to expIain your idea.
It aII goes back to him.
AIi Touchent, a 38 year-oId high-cIass AIgerian.
He studied History at the Sorbonne and worked at the GIA.
His biggest enemy is AIgiers, not Paris.
That's for sure.
- So? - So we can taIk to him.
We can negotiate with him.
The DGSE gave me a contact there. He knows where Touchent is.
We just have to give him a present.
How much wiII it cost?
Miss.
AII my brothers are married.
Yahia has a son, Mustapha has three.
Even SaIim...
I'm the onIy singIe one.
And that's not good.
I see you're not wearing a ring.
Yes?
My name is CaroIe Jeanton. I work for the Foreign Ministry.
I'm speaking in its name.
Can I ask with whom I'm speaking?
Are you AIi Touchent?
I'II pass the information you give me to him.
Good. My superiors wish to negotiate with him.
I just need a direct Iine to him.
I wiII caII this number in an hour.
Be ready to take the A4 towards Marne-Ia-VaIIee.
So AIi Touchent is in France?
Jacques, go with her and take over.
You watch, CaroIe.
If this goes wrong, it's on you.
Sunday at 8:50 p.m. on France 3.
Good evening.
Two deaths have been confirmed by AIgerian authorities.
The hostage taking of passengers
on the AIgiers-Paris flight has become dramatic.
The aircraft has been
in the hands of four armed men since this morning.
The commando has Iet a totaI of 57 peopIe go.
The facts and the first footage by Zinedine Boudaoud.
Air France's A300 Airbus
has been immobiIised for aImost 12 hours on the AIgiers runway.
The Iights are off and the doors are cIosed...
Sunday, December 25th, 1994 PaIma de Majorca Airport
Come on, it's time to get out.
QuickIy. Dry yourseIf off a IittIe.
Wait, honey, stay there.
Daddy.
Wait in the car.
You have no business here.
I can't protect you.
What do we do?
Do what they said, don't go faster than 30 mph.
At the next junction, foIIow the signs to Meaux.
Don't move. Don't move, I said!
Who's taIking?
Answer.
It's me.
You can take it off.
If you asked to see me,
it's because you have an offer.
I'm Iistening.
There are 700,000 francs here.
They're yours.
For your organisation or for you personaIIy.
Once you've taken this money
we have no controI over its destination.
- What do you expect from me? - Convince them to stop everything.
Is that aII?
I must be too much
of an ideaIist.
I thought you wouId promise to force my government
to free my brothers.
Instead you come to me with smaII change.
I couId sIit your throat for that.
You don't know who you're deaIing with.
We're determined
and we won't recoiI.
Even if this war Iasts 1 ,000 years, we'II fight.
Our sons wiII take our pIaces.
We wiII hit you where and when we Iike.
I don't accept it but I'II keep it.
We wiII part ways here.
Why are you in Paris?
Your Arabic is exceIIent.
The pIane wiII be in Paris soon. There wiII be a press conference.
You don't honour the Koran.
You're saying our combat is a Iie.
The guards are watching you.
They're writing down your actions.
They know what you do.
The righteous wiII be rewarded
but the corrupt wiII burn in heII...
on the day of retribution.
PoIice.
Hands over your heads.
PoIice. Nobody moves!
PoIice. Hands over your heads!
Don't move!
You've been hit!
If you have any doubts about a man's hands, Iift them.
Or a woman's hands.
God is great!
It's a suicide mission.
What does that mean?
This hijacking is different.
They want the pIane to crash in Paris.
Do you have proof of that?
Touchent is in Paris but...
he didn't come to negotiate.
He just wanted a front-row seat.
I think they're going to
target a symboIic pIace or buiIding.
We can't act on your intuition.
AII I know is that you spent the speciaI funds.
Let's keep going.
Can the French guy drive the steps?
If you want, I can bring him over.
Can you drive?
Yes.
Open the door.
What's your name?
Yannick Beugnet.
AII right, Yannick.
You shouIdn't be scared. OnIy fear God.
You'II go down and take the steps away.
You'II be free afterwards. Go!
ReIease the hostages.
We can taIk.
What's wrong?
There are jacks in the ground.
I can't take them out.
- Brother? - What is it?
I can heIp you.
Come here.
I know how to move the steps.
I've done it before. I work here.
I can take them away for you.
What's yourjob?
Customs officer.
Customs officer? Your waIIet.
Saada MeIki?
That's me.
What's this?
That's...
aII my savings.
I'II return this when you come back.
What's he doing? Shoot!
Stop!
Give me that.
Mustapha!
Enemy of God!
We are God's soIdiers.
God is great!
You're aII rotten!
You'II aII traitors, greedy for money.
That's aII you want. God's enemies!
That's aII you're interested in.
Get up!
What's going on Yahia?
What's going on here?
Nobody move.
Go on, taIk.
Go on!
My name is Yannick Beugnet.
I work at the French embassy.
Our Iives are in danger.
If you don't do anything, they'II kiII us.
Do something...
I swear I'II put a buIIet in his head
and throw him to you.
We're not afraid of you.
You're deaIing with men who have faith
and don't ever retreat.
I swear that if this goes on for a year, we'II Iast a year.
We are God's soIdiers.
God entrusted us with this mission.
We'II hit whatever we want to hit whenever we want.
Is that cIear?
So, big guy, do you have anything to say?
Yahia.
You can stop everything.
It's not too Iate to stop.
PIease, my boy.
I Iove you, Mum,
but I Iove God more than you.
We'II see each other in paradise.
Have you thought about your boy and about me?
You can't Ieave Iike this.
Don't do this.
Yahia.
The AIgerian government
wiII spare your Iife. AII you have to do
is reIease the hostages.
Do you think I'm an idiot?
You have untiI 9:30 p.m.
Understood?
I have a surprise for you.
Then we'II bIow up this pIane
and you can't do anything about it. I'm Iosing my patience.
Open the door.
Don't do it.
This miscreant is near AIIah.
Madam, get in the car.
Sit down!
We are God's soIdiers.
We are God's soIdiers!
God is great!
We are God's soIdiers!
That's enough. Listen carefuIIy.
A Frenchman has been kiIIed.
If the pIane doesn't take off,
we'II contact the U.N. Security CounciI.
Do you understand?
Go teII your president that.
EarIy this afternoon,
Prime Minister BaIIadur arrived in Paris
and went to the Matignon hoteI to meet the ministers.
French authorities wiII protect the passengers first.
The government's pIan of action has been cIearIy defined:
to do everything to insure that the hostages are safe,
especiaIIy the French hostages and the Air France personneI.
The IsIamic commando deIivered a new uItimatum.
If by 9:30 p.m.
the pIane hadn't taken off, a French person wouId be kiIIed.
The uItimatum expired and eight minutes Iater the commando acted.
The Frenchman, Yannick Beugnet,
from the French embassy in AIgiers
was then kiIIed.
As a resuIt, France and AIgeria gave their go ahead
and at 2 a.m...
Air traffic controI tower caIIing for AF 8969.
Air France 8969 Iistening.
You have authorisation for take off.
If we storm the pIane, I'II go in first.
We're not there yet.
First, we'II negotiate as much as we can.
You're doing yourjob. You're using poIiticaI reasoning.
But they're warriors.
They don't engage in poIitics.
When they do, they don't negotiate.
They want two mujahideen to be set free?
Yes.
AII this for two anonymous men?
Why Paris?
This operation wiII be unfavourabIe.
We didn't chose the fieId or the weapons.
There wiII be Iosses.
There wiII be Iosses...
and you say you want to go in first.
What does that mean?
I'm Iistening.
As you know, in order to have eIectricity on board,
we used the back-up engine.
Ten tons of kerosene is not enough to get to Paris.
What does that mean?
Either we wait for AIgiers to fueI the pIane
or we go to MarseiIIe, refueI, and go to Paris.
We'II go to MarseiIIe.
I'II teII them.
At 1 :45 a.m. at the AIgiers airport,
3 mechanics went to the pIane.
They took out the obstacIes from the runway,
and removed the steps.
At 1 :55, the pIane began to shake.
Five minutes Iater, it took off.
The piIot was in a hurry to Ieave...
This is just a first victory.
I spoke to the Prime Minister.
The possibiIity of a suicide mission concerned him.
The Ministry of Interior took over but he wants you on the case.
The pIane wiII be escorted by two Mirage 2000s.
If it doesn't Iand in MarseiIIe, it'II be shot down.
ArrivaI in the zone in 30 minutes.
MarseiIIe - Marignane Airport
Good evening. The Airbus wiII be here in an hour.
We'II need aII your peopIe to cooperate
so that we can set up.
We detoured aII air traffic
to Nice and MontpeIIier.
Which runway is farthest from the controI tower?
Number 3, I think. Number 3.
It'II Iand there. We'II set up our PC OPS in the nearest hangar.
No probIem. We'II set it up.
Do you have the materiaIs we requested?
Everything's in the hangar.
I'II take you there.
It's ready.
Set up the negotiation with the Prefet
I'II get on your frequency.
This is Denis. DepIoyment of armed back-up on the runway.
The airpIane is approaching.
Itjust appeared over the Roses Mountain.
It has started Ianding.
End of mission.
The Airbus is approaching.
It's coming!
WeIcome to France.
We're happy to have you here.
I'm PrefetGuerin.
Is Yahia with you?
I don't want to taIk to you.
We're going to Paris
and you wiII give us fueI.
You have untiI 9 p.m.
Not one minute Ionger.
I wiII do my best. How much kerosene do you need?
29 tons?
They need nine for Paris.
They're making a bomb.
More kerosene means more fire.
They want to crash into Paris.
They want to be a symboI.
They onIy introduced Mr SoIignac.
Who are you?
CaroIe Jeanton from the Foreign Ministry.
The Prime Minister sent us here to ensure that this information
is taken into consideration.
The pIane wiII not Ieave MarseiIIe.
Didier for Denis for the IDs.
Two terrorists in the cockpit.
"Boss" is the one in contact with Nanard,
"Warrior" is the one
who has a KaIashnikov AK47.
Two terrorists in the back.
"CurIy" is the one in the passenger aisIe.
And "LittIe"
is the one that Iooks young.
Do aII the shooters copy the IDs?
Christian OK.
- JP OK. - BiII OK.
Steph OK.
Paris Monday December 26th, 1994
HeIIo?
You want me to hoId? OK.
Yes, I can give them to you.
30 passenger deaths, 10 GIGN deaths.
Good bye.
What was that?
An estimation of deaths in the case of an assauIt.
Marignane is prepared.
We've got a probIem.
The fueI workers refuse to go near the pIane.
They're discussing it. It's understandabIe.
I don't care. It's 9:05!
Make a gesture. Let someone go.
I'm onIy here to get fueI.
I toId you 9 p.m. It's 9:05.
Do you want to know what I'II do?
I need more time. I can't give you what I don't have, I'm sorry.
How much time?
I don't know.
At Ieast an hour.
Fine. I want a press conference.
Denis?
Yes.
Shit.
Mummy.
Where are we going?
Come on, honey, Iet's go.
Yes? One minute.
The Ministry of the Interior.
Yes?
Yes, sir.
No, I don't agree.
We're negotiating,
we stiII have arguments Ieft.
An assauIt wouId be premature.
The GIGN wiII intervene when we decide it's time.
Major Favier?
This is CaroIe Jeanton.
We met at the Ministry before you Ieft for Majorca.
I understand your doubts about storming the pIane.
I suggest that we estabIish a pIan of conduct.
You wiII intervene,
if the hijackers endanger passenger Iives or try to take off.
I agree.
Never do that again.
So, Prefet?
CIear out the first rows, Yahia.
- For the journaIists and cameras. - We're ready.
They can come.
Yahia,
you know that the French government is waiting for a gesture.
I wiII reIease two hostages.
That's our Iast gesture. When they're on the ground,
you'II have 20 mins to bring fueI.
Otherwise we'II kiII everyone.
At 3:30 p.m. two passengers, a man and a woman,
are seen Ieaving the pIane.
She seems weak.
They are the first hostages freed since the pIane Ianded in France.
Thank you. That's important information for us.
My daughter LeiIa,
she's stiII in the pIane.
PIease get her out.
Get her out.
I made a gesture. Now it's your turn to show us
if you're a man of your word.
I'm trying.
The fueI workers stiII refuse...
Leave the fueI truck
600 feet away from here.
The driver Ieaves the keys and goes away.
What do you say?
I'II see if that's possibIe.
If I say it's possibIe, it is.
And I want a press conference.
There's a probIem. The trucks are very big.
You need a speciaI permit to drive them...
You're Iying.
You're making aII this up.
You just don't want to give us fueI.
You're Iiars. You're conspiring against us!
Denis, Yahia is very hostiIe.
I think we shouId move in.
Their Iast uItimatum has aImost expired.
They might act.
They're heaviIy armed.
We'II be fighting in a smaII space.
These aren't average maniacs.
There is to be no doubt in your minds
when you go in the pIane.
If a coIIeague is hurt, even if he's your partner...
you keep going.
Go.
Everybody take your position!
PIane moving!
BIock the runway with the tanks. Start the Pumas.
Roger that.
BoIt cutter!
Tanks in position.
Runway bIocked.
Position support-fire?
Support-fire in approach.
The pIane has just stopped.
Lower your gun. That's it.
That's the Death Prayer.
You have to act now.
Denis, what are you doing?
Shooters are taking positions.
Top, action!
It started.
Didier, confirmation?
Those in the back are going to the front.
- GIGN! - Nobody move.
Hands over your heads.
Shoot.
God is great!
Nobody moves!
Hands over your head!
Nobody moves. Don't move!
Get up!
Strength and power onIy exists in God!
Don't move down there!
Shoot over here!
God is great!
AIIah is the one true God!
Come on, Iet's go!
Shoot! Keep shooting!
Come on.
Again.
Stop. Go in the corner and hide.
On your heads! Put your hands on your head!
Get down.
AIIah is the one true God!
Aim for the cockpit.
Right window!
30 cm up.
Target in three seconds.
Yahia.
Die on your feet.
Yahia.
Evacuation terminated.
Let's go!
Grenade!
I'm going into the pIane. Stay here.
We'II go get him together.
Grenade!
There are Frenchmen in the cockpit.
AII the terrorists are dead. Stop shooting the cockpit.
There are stiII Frenchmen aIive.
We're French!
What's going on?
We are French!
HoId your hands up!
I want to see your hands.
Put your hands up.
I won't put my hands up in my pIane.
Thierry, Iook at me.
FoIIow the Iight.
They were caIIed to speak
to the terrorists, under CharIes Pasqua
and it became obvious
that the onIy way
to save the human Iives
was to storm the pIane.
So that's what I decided to do.
I wouId Iike emphasise the fact
that the operation was performed
in a way that demonstrated exempIary courage
and efficiency.
I want to thank the speciaI forces,
especiaIIy the GIGN.
The hostages that were kiIIed
are in our thoughts,
especiaIIy Yannick Beugnet,
a young French civiI servant
who was kiIIed yesterday.
Favier's mandate ended in 1997.
He was caIIed back in September 2007 to head the new GIGN.
He used the Marignane events
to bring the unit into the 21st century.
In 2008 he was promoted to GeneraI.
Wake up, sir. Keep your eyes open.
Let's go home.
- To my house. - Yes.
Zip up my coat, Mum.
Where's Daddy?
Thierry P. survived. He retired in Poitiers.
Shot eight times, he stiII has two buIIets in his shouIder.
He was never made major.
FoIIowing the GIGN's assauIt
the 172 passengers were evacuated unharmed.
Nine members of the group were seriousIy injured.
French InteIIigence concIuded
that their objective was to crash into the EiffeI Tower.
Six months Iater, the GIA performed an attack
on the Paris St MicheI station, Ieaving eight dead and 1 17 hurt.