Au service de la France (2015–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - VG 42 - full transcript
Moulinier, Jacquard and Calot go on strike to protest the loss of a bonus. Barred from seeing Sophie, Merlaux dives into his work and uncovers a plot.
A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
Previously in the Service...
What's the empty box next to my name?
The Co-Assistant Director.
Don't take it badly.
Find me my new Moïse.
It will cause tension between agents.
-He'll choose the best.
-Or Clayborn!
STAMPED
I will now introduce
the Co-Assistant Director.
Henri Lechiot.
The new Moïse.
Henri Lechiot
was a model official
who worked throughout his too-short career
to serve France!
STAMPED
Sleep well.
Goodnight, Dad.
-I really like you.
-Are you free on Friday?
My folks want to meet you.
-Hello André!
-Evening.
Daddy, this is André.
André Merlaux.
Delighted, André Merlaux.
WHEREVER NECESSITY KNOWS NO LAW
Thank you.
She's from western France.
Oh, that's...
Tell me, young man,
what do you do for a living?
Sophie has been very secretive,
however much we asked her.
André is a sales representative.
For a big firm.
Good, well done!
I suppose you travel a lot?
A bit.
A bit?
The other day I asked about his day
and he said
he'd been to Algiers, just like
any provincial town.
Algiers is lovely.
But it's not ours.
Please don't, Sophie.
Algeria is French.
Is so much travelling
a good thing
if you want to start a family?
There were no men in wartime,
we can cope now too.
Sophie, don't be insolent.
Yvon, sit straight.
And representative is more exciting
than official at Veterans Affairs.
Sorry, Daddy darling, but...
But that must be very interesting too,
Colonel.
That's funny,
you knew Maurice was a Colonel?
What?
Don't get Daddy started!
He knows what I think of the military.
Yvon, stop picking.
Without the military,
we would all be German now.
We have German friends.
Yvon, once more, your back!
A VERY SECRET SERVICE
Gentlemen, this is Lechiot's replacement.
Gomez.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Lechiot will be missed.
But change can be good.
Very well.
Go ahead, Gomez.
For Category A officials,
levels two to four,
the service bonus is equal to 7.5%
of employees' total gross pay,
not exceeding 17%,
inasmuch as the agent's...
The facts, Gomez. Everyone knows this.
The bonus due to you is thus...
-2,347 new francs.
-and 30 centimes.
That's it.
Plus the VG42 bonus.
No.
That has been abolished.
VG42, abolished?
By whom? What for?
What does this mean?
It was set up by Vichy,
to facilitate travel
from Paris to the government base.
-So what?
-So,
it's in Paris now.
Yes, and?
Everyone concerned believes
monthly travel between the two
is no longer justified.
But it's a social benefit!
Vichy was not France.
Mother's Day and school doctors
were Vichy,
and they aren't abolished.
Double standards!
Against the weak!
School canteens, the Highway Code,
ID cards,
the police force too!
We aren't here to praise Vichy!
No, nor to make it into soup.
The Vichy government was set up in Vichy
so they had a reason to go there,
which can't have changed.
Evening, Goran.
So he's your cousin?
Distant, from a first marriage
on my mother's side.
Well, my half-mother.
Half-mother?
Yes, my family's a bit complicated.
I keep my distance.
First, stop the production line.
Stop it?
Yes, paralyze the production line.
Yes, block the work tools. Strike.
Strike?
Well yes, strike.
So that the workers will be heard.
-Social benefits are under threat.
-Yes...
What are your demands?
We want to benefit from our benefits.
Later.
If you want to get what you want,
you must ask for more.
Much more.
If you want 10, demand 50
and you might get 30, or even 40.
30 VG42s?
I don't want to go there that often!
So, to get twice what we want,
we demand five times?
And we'll get maybe three
or even four times?
You haven't changed.
What was he like?
I was never small.
Go on, Emile.
So, you must demand a lot
in order to obtain a little.
Ask for a 44-hour week, or even 42.
We won't work more!
We want our social benefit back.
On strike? How so?
You haven't even the right.
We reckon
that the abolition of the VG42 bonus
foreshadows a worsening
of our conditions of work
and justifies this notice of strike action
as of this moment.
Stopping the production line.
DEMANDS
A 35% rise in basic pay,
a 56% pay raise
for agricultural workers...
What is this nonsense?
Are any of you farm workers?
Reduction of the health care user charge
for...
Do you get any of this, Gomez?
Yes and no.
It's French, but it's meaningless.
Maybe Quebec French?
Are you mad?
Please read our list of demands
to the end.
What is this pantomime?
You no longer stand for a superior?
They're on strike, Colonel.
These are their demands.
A better supply chain,
particularly for bread, meat
and potatoes...
A company film club
managed by the employees...
Revision of the Service library
management system
to be managed henceforth
by a people's government.
What is this heap of Bolshevik rubbish?
And lastly,
reinstatement of the VG42 bonus,
with immediate effect.
Strike if that's what you want,
you aren't irreplaceable.
Breaking point, as predicted.
Emile said so.
Not irreplaceable.
We'll see about that.
We already have.
A world without the French Secret Service
is a world without France.
And a world without France...
I don't dare imagine such a thing.
Maybe they're sick?
They didn't fill in their S32P forms.
Hello?
Very well, Colonel!
The colonel wants to see you
in his office. Confidential.
Merlaux.
I have two orders for you.
One:
stop seeing Sophie
with immediate effect.
Two:
you will replace Agents Calot, Jacquard
and Moulinier.
Take charge of their files
while they're on strike.
Very well, Maurice.
Sorry?
Very well, Colonel.
Savior, seven letters.
General.
Nothing's moving on here.
Repeated with age: two letters.
Ga!
"Ga." What's that?
Ga.
Repeated with age.
Ga.
Gaga!
Strikebreaker, five letters?
-Scabs!
-No.
André.
I'm sorry. The Colonel asked me to...
-Don't worry, lad.
-We don't blame you.
Go save the world, Merlaux.
"Go save the world, Merlaux."
Blue Jerboa?
What curiosity have you found now?
I checked: a jerboa is a sort of
long-legged mouse.
I know what it is, thank you.
But what's it doing in our files?
Well, matching the list of FLN meetings
since 1954
against that of plane tickets...
"Matching"?
Putting the two together.
Who permitted you to do that?
I thought...
This Service is organized
three clear ways:
meaningless chance?
-And the beastie?
-Blue Jerboa.
It pops up everywhere.
The Soviets supply arms to the FLN
via an African chief.
They meet in Paris this afternoon.
I don't know who, nor why.
I thought it better to tell you.
Leave me that file.
And shave. You look like a thug.
Very well.
Sophie, I...
I think I love you,
but I must give you up.
To serve...
France.
Were you praying?
Yes. Well...
No, I...
Morning, Son.
Morning, Dad.
Is all well?
I've met a girl.
That's marvelous, André!
But I can't see her.
Why not?
Her father.
He thinks I'm not sufficiently...
I don't fit the profile.
What nonsense!
What's this girl called?
Sophie.
Sophie Mercaillon.
He's right. Stop seeing her.
If her father thinks you're not right,
you will never fit in.
And your wife will side with her parents.
Right?
No, you'd better give her up.
Maybe they should all be red.
Maybe not, but...
It's a hell of a mess, though.
Perfect. It's working very well.
All is fine.
No. We're on strike: it should be red.
Does anyone know that electrician?
It's just the same, strike or not.
As though we're useless.
And France is not as great a power
as we think.
You know,
I had a strange dream the other day.
Daft.
I was driving a Japanese car
and the Chinese were in Africa.
It's been two hours.
One more and we go back.
I'm sure they'll come.
Come in.
A quick word, please?
I'll come back.
You see: mixing files gets you nowhere.
Matching.
I matched them.
We're no further on.
How many times does the postman come
around here?
I'm not at the Post Office.
I've seen three postmen go in there.
The less they do, the happier they are.
Three postmen, though?
That's just it.
It seems absurd to us, but...
Three postmen?
I think it's them.
Are you in neutral?
Not hurt?
I'm in charge of Blue Jerboa.
I have a plane waiting at Orly.
Hello.
It's for the calendar.
You're the fourth.
This morning, at precisely 7:04,
in the French Sahara,
Blue Jerboa took place.
This deeply mysterious name
is the cover for a nuclear test.
Blue Jerboa tested
France's first nuclear weapon.
France thus joined the very select club
of the nuclear powers.
With this new peace-keeper,
France has confirmed,
were it necessary,
its status as a great world power.
Just what I thought.
Obviously. A great power.
Super-power, even.
Gentlemen,
this is a great day for France.
Evil forces had planned
to make an attempt against Blue Jerboa.
Thanks to our scientific intelligence,
we foiled their criminal plot
so the explosion went ahead.
A firework display
to salute the greatness and genius
of France.
Long live the General!
Long live the atom bomb!
Long live France!
Long live France!
Aren't you on strike?
As my cousin says, you need to know
how to end a strike.
Merlaux, you can't have a medal
because you aren't permanent.
Your first bonus.
The Atomic bonus.
Well done for matching those files.
No files,
no matching of files.
Quite so.
I've always liked majorettes.
Come in.
Gomez has told me
about each of your deals.
Creation of three new bonuses:
large families,
mortgage interest
and wire-tapping.
And...
how much...
are those bonuses worth?
A free monthly Paris-Vichy return each.
Dismiss.
Why here?
Because I...
I'm not sure your father's very keen.
Papa was delighted to meet you.
But I... I...
He seemed...
Reticent.
Is that enough to take you from me?
No.
-Fancy a weekend away together?
-Yes.
In Vichy. I've got the tickets.
Yes. And also...
Papa says it's a lovely town.
We're on, then!
Subtitles: Victoria Britten
Previously in the Service...
What's the empty box next to my name?
The Co-Assistant Director.
Don't take it badly.
Find me my new Moïse.
It will cause tension between agents.
-He'll choose the best.
-Or Clayborn!
STAMPED
I will now introduce
the Co-Assistant Director.
Henri Lechiot.
The new Moïse.
Henri Lechiot
was a model official
who worked throughout his too-short career
to serve France!
STAMPED
Sleep well.
Goodnight, Dad.
-I really like you.
-Are you free on Friday?
My folks want to meet you.
-Hello André!
-Evening.
Daddy, this is André.
André Merlaux.
Delighted, André Merlaux.
WHEREVER NECESSITY KNOWS NO LAW
Thank you.
She's from western France.
Oh, that's...
Tell me, young man,
what do you do for a living?
Sophie has been very secretive,
however much we asked her.
André is a sales representative.
For a big firm.
Good, well done!
I suppose you travel a lot?
A bit.
A bit?
The other day I asked about his day
and he said
he'd been to Algiers, just like
any provincial town.
Algiers is lovely.
But it's not ours.
Please don't, Sophie.
Algeria is French.
Is so much travelling
a good thing
if you want to start a family?
There were no men in wartime,
we can cope now too.
Sophie, don't be insolent.
Yvon, sit straight.
And representative is more exciting
than official at Veterans Affairs.
Sorry, Daddy darling, but...
But that must be very interesting too,
Colonel.
That's funny,
you knew Maurice was a Colonel?
What?
Don't get Daddy started!
He knows what I think of the military.
Yvon, stop picking.
Without the military,
we would all be German now.
We have German friends.
Yvon, once more, your back!
A VERY SECRET SERVICE
Gentlemen, this is Lechiot's replacement.
Gomez.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Lechiot will be missed.
But change can be good.
Very well.
Go ahead, Gomez.
For Category A officials,
levels two to four,
the service bonus is equal to 7.5%
of employees' total gross pay,
not exceeding 17%,
inasmuch as the agent's...
The facts, Gomez. Everyone knows this.
The bonus due to you is thus...
-2,347 new francs.
-and 30 centimes.
That's it.
Plus the VG42 bonus.
No.
That has been abolished.
VG42, abolished?
By whom? What for?
What does this mean?
It was set up by Vichy,
to facilitate travel
from Paris to the government base.
-So what?
-So,
it's in Paris now.
Yes, and?
Everyone concerned believes
monthly travel between the two
is no longer justified.
But it's a social benefit!
Vichy was not France.
Mother's Day and school doctors
were Vichy,
and they aren't abolished.
Double standards!
Against the weak!
School canteens, the Highway Code,
ID cards,
the police force too!
We aren't here to praise Vichy!
No, nor to make it into soup.
The Vichy government was set up in Vichy
so they had a reason to go there,
which can't have changed.
Evening, Goran.
So he's your cousin?
Distant, from a first marriage
on my mother's side.
Well, my half-mother.
Half-mother?
Yes, my family's a bit complicated.
I keep my distance.
First, stop the production line.
Stop it?
Yes, paralyze the production line.
Yes, block the work tools. Strike.
Strike?
Well yes, strike.
So that the workers will be heard.
-Social benefits are under threat.
-Yes...
What are your demands?
We want to benefit from our benefits.
Later.
If you want to get what you want,
you must ask for more.
Much more.
If you want 10, demand 50
and you might get 30, or even 40.
30 VG42s?
I don't want to go there that often!
So, to get twice what we want,
we demand five times?
And we'll get maybe three
or even four times?
You haven't changed.
What was he like?
I was never small.
Go on, Emile.
So, you must demand a lot
in order to obtain a little.
Ask for a 44-hour week, or even 42.
We won't work more!
We want our social benefit back.
On strike? How so?
You haven't even the right.
We reckon
that the abolition of the VG42 bonus
foreshadows a worsening
of our conditions of work
and justifies this notice of strike action
as of this moment.
Stopping the production line.
DEMANDS
A 35% rise in basic pay,
a 56% pay raise
for agricultural workers...
What is this nonsense?
Are any of you farm workers?
Reduction of the health care user charge
for...
Do you get any of this, Gomez?
Yes and no.
It's French, but it's meaningless.
Maybe Quebec French?
Are you mad?
Please read our list of demands
to the end.
What is this pantomime?
You no longer stand for a superior?
They're on strike, Colonel.
These are their demands.
A better supply chain,
particularly for bread, meat
and potatoes...
A company film club
managed by the employees...
Revision of the Service library
management system
to be managed henceforth
by a people's government.
What is this heap of Bolshevik rubbish?
And lastly,
reinstatement of the VG42 bonus,
with immediate effect.
Strike if that's what you want,
you aren't irreplaceable.
Breaking point, as predicted.
Emile said so.
Not irreplaceable.
We'll see about that.
We already have.
A world without the French Secret Service
is a world without France.
And a world without France...
I don't dare imagine such a thing.
Maybe they're sick?
They didn't fill in their S32P forms.
Hello?
Very well, Colonel!
The colonel wants to see you
in his office. Confidential.
Merlaux.
I have two orders for you.
One:
stop seeing Sophie
with immediate effect.
Two:
you will replace Agents Calot, Jacquard
and Moulinier.
Take charge of their files
while they're on strike.
Very well, Maurice.
Sorry?
Very well, Colonel.
Savior, seven letters.
General.
Nothing's moving on here.
Repeated with age: two letters.
Ga!
"Ga." What's that?
Ga.
Repeated with age.
Ga.
Gaga!
Strikebreaker, five letters?
-Scabs!
-No.
André.
I'm sorry. The Colonel asked me to...
-Don't worry, lad.
-We don't blame you.
Go save the world, Merlaux.
"Go save the world, Merlaux."
Blue Jerboa?
What curiosity have you found now?
I checked: a jerboa is a sort of
long-legged mouse.
I know what it is, thank you.
But what's it doing in our files?
Well, matching the list of FLN meetings
since 1954
against that of plane tickets...
"Matching"?
Putting the two together.
Who permitted you to do that?
I thought...
This Service is organized
three clear ways:
meaningless chance?
-And the beastie?
-Blue Jerboa.
It pops up everywhere.
The Soviets supply arms to the FLN
via an African chief.
They meet in Paris this afternoon.
I don't know who, nor why.
I thought it better to tell you.
Leave me that file.
And shave. You look like a thug.
Very well.
Sophie, I...
I think I love you,
but I must give you up.
To serve...
France.
Were you praying?
Yes. Well...
No, I...
Morning, Son.
Morning, Dad.
Is all well?
I've met a girl.
That's marvelous, André!
But I can't see her.
Why not?
Her father.
He thinks I'm not sufficiently...
I don't fit the profile.
What nonsense!
What's this girl called?
Sophie.
Sophie Mercaillon.
He's right. Stop seeing her.
If her father thinks you're not right,
you will never fit in.
And your wife will side with her parents.
Right?
No, you'd better give her up.
Maybe they should all be red.
Maybe not, but...
It's a hell of a mess, though.
Perfect. It's working very well.
All is fine.
No. We're on strike: it should be red.
Does anyone know that electrician?
It's just the same, strike or not.
As though we're useless.
And France is not as great a power
as we think.
You know,
I had a strange dream the other day.
Daft.
I was driving a Japanese car
and the Chinese were in Africa.
It's been two hours.
One more and we go back.
I'm sure they'll come.
Come in.
A quick word, please?
I'll come back.
You see: mixing files gets you nowhere.
Matching.
I matched them.
We're no further on.
How many times does the postman come
around here?
I'm not at the Post Office.
I've seen three postmen go in there.
The less they do, the happier they are.
Three postmen, though?
That's just it.
It seems absurd to us, but...
Three postmen?
I think it's them.
Are you in neutral?
Not hurt?
I'm in charge of Blue Jerboa.
I have a plane waiting at Orly.
Hello.
It's for the calendar.
You're the fourth.
This morning, at precisely 7:04,
in the French Sahara,
Blue Jerboa took place.
This deeply mysterious name
is the cover for a nuclear test.
Blue Jerboa tested
France's first nuclear weapon.
France thus joined the very select club
of the nuclear powers.
With this new peace-keeper,
France has confirmed,
were it necessary,
its status as a great world power.
Just what I thought.
Obviously. A great power.
Super-power, even.
Gentlemen,
this is a great day for France.
Evil forces had planned
to make an attempt against Blue Jerboa.
Thanks to our scientific intelligence,
we foiled their criminal plot
so the explosion went ahead.
A firework display
to salute the greatness and genius
of France.
Long live the General!
Long live the atom bomb!
Long live France!
Long live France!
Aren't you on strike?
As my cousin says, you need to know
how to end a strike.
Merlaux, you can't have a medal
because you aren't permanent.
Your first bonus.
The Atomic bonus.
Well done for matching those files.
No files,
no matching of files.
Quite so.
I've always liked majorettes.
Come in.
Gomez has told me
about each of your deals.
Creation of three new bonuses:
large families,
mortgage interest
and wire-tapping.
And...
how much...
are those bonuses worth?
A free monthly Paris-Vichy return each.
Dismiss.
Why here?
Because I...
I'm not sure your father's very keen.
Papa was delighted to meet you.
But I... I...
He seemed...
Reticent.
Is that enough to take you from me?
No.
-Fancy a weekend away together?
-Yes.
In Vichy. I've got the tickets.
Yes. And also...
Papa says it's a lovely town.
We're on, then!
Subtitles: Victoria Britten