‘Une affaire française’, to give its proper French title, is based on true events that took place in the village of Lépanges-sur-Vologne in north-eastern France in the mid-80s. It’s a truly shocking tale of the abduction and murder of a four-year old boy, Grégory Villemin, who was snatched from his home and found dead – having been tied up and drowned – in a nearby river shortly afterwards.
If you want to avoid spoilers, please stop reading this article now.
The Villemins are to all intents and purposes a normal family. Jean-Marie and Christine live a comfortable life, but they’re not wealthy or particularly special in any way. But for years they – and Jean-Marie’s parents -have been receiving threatening phone calls and letters from someone known only as The Crow. Police have been investigating but are no closer to finding the true identity of The Crow. They suspect it might be a disgruntled family member, jealous of the Jean-Marie for some reason, but there are no leads and no arrests.
Then on 16th October 1984, the threats take a more sinister turn. Christine is playing with Grégory in their garden. She goes indoors to do some laundry and listen to the radio. Some minutes later, the phone rings and a voice tells her that her son has been taken. She runs outside and sure enough, Grégory is nowhere to be found. His body is discovered later that day in the River Vologne.
‘A French Case’ is told from a variety of perspectives: the boy’s parents, the local police force, the local magistrate, Jean-Michel Lambert, and the pack of journalists who are following the case – particularly Jeanne Lombardi (nicely portrayed by Laurence Arné), a young and ambitious female writer trying to make a name for herself in the chauvinistic world of the French newspaper business.
As is so often the case, dramas based on true life events have a fascination that pure fiction can rarely equal. The case of l’Affaire Grégory (as it became known in France) is extraordinary and bizarre. For the past 40 year, suspicion has shifted from one family member to another, but the mystery of who actually killed the boy remains unsolved to this day.
This is an absorbing drama that has been sympathetically handled and beautifully produced. TF1 – the French national French broadcaster – co-produced the series, and you can tell that it’s got some heavyweight production values. Throw in a well-written script and some fine acting performances from all the central cast, including the aforementioned Laurence Arné, Blandine Bellavoir as Christine, and Laurent Stocker as the Judge in charge of the investigation, and you have a top-drawer drama.
This is one of Walter’s finest in a long while.
Walter Presents: ‘A French Case’ launches on Channel 4 on 21st January at 11.30pm. The full box-set available on Walter Presents via Channel 4 Streaming now.
