by Christos Zabounis

After spending six years in Damascus, a secret agent of the D.G.S.E. (Direction Generale des Services Exterieurs), the French equivalent of the C.I.A., returns to Paris. Thus, the most captivating, perhaps, espionage series of the recent years begins. I had seen an episode by chance when I was in France on the pay-per-view channel Canal+ in 2015 when it first aired, and, quite by chance again, discovered it on Amazon Prime. Its creator, Eric Rochant, turned to current and former members of the French secret services and set up a microcosm a la Gerard de Villiers, the legend of spy novels. I still have the image of the above-mentioned writer alive, when I asked him to be photographed with a gun, like his hero, and we went to the Ministry for Internal Affairs, where he was welcomed with cheers and applause. He had just published a book, the subject of which unfolded in Athens and concerned “November 17”, with information that he had probably obtained from D.G.S.E., after he had made a site visit. The verisimilitude of his writings I find again in “The Bureau,” as it is titled in its international distribution. Agent Malotru (Matthew Kassovitz) is no match for Jason Burne and the rest of his American colleagues. He is not a superhero, but a normal employee of the French Intelligence Service, with whom one can easily identify. The plot is convincing, especially now that we see it from a distance and the dialogues have that necessary depth that is missing from Hollywood productions. Without going into further detail, out of respect for potential viewers, may I ask them, when they finish the series, a comparison to “Homeland”.