Book cover for Flic: The True Story of the Journalist Who Infiltrated the Police by Valentin Gendrot

Flic

The True Story of the Journalist Who Infiltrated the Police

2023 Released
144 Pages
2-3 Hours
Ebook Unavailable
Audiobook Unavailable
Paperback Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
Scribe UsISBN 9781957363325
Translated by Frank Wynne

"What happens within a police force? In his intimate and revealing inside look at France's police culture, journalist Valentin Gendrot depicts his two year undercover investigation. Juxtaposed with playful feline illustrations, this shocking exposé is as relevant as ever."
--New York Public Library, 'NYPL Recommends: Best New Comics for Adults'

The story of a French journalist who infiltrated the country's police force, revealing a culture of racism and violence in which officers act with impunity.

What happens behind the walls of a police station? In order to answer this question, undercover journalist Valentin Gendrot puts his life on hold for two years. He decides to undertake training and become a police officer. Several months later, Gendrot is working in a police station in one of the tough northern arrondissements of Paris, where relations between the law and locals are strained.

Gendrot hides nothing. He witnesses police brutality, racism, blunders, and cover-ups. But he also sees the oppressive working conditions that officers endure, and mourns the tragic suicide of a colleague.

Asking important questions about who holds institutional power and how we can hold them to account, Flic is a gripping exposé of a world never before seen by outsiders.

Valentin Gendrot

Born in 1988, Valentin Gendrot worked on local newspapers and radio after graduating from journalism college, and carried out several undercover investigations--including working on a Toyota production line and in a Lidl supermarket--before joining the Paris police force.

More by Valentin Gendrot

Frank Wynne

Translated by

Frank Wynne has translated works by authors including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Virginie Despentes, and Mathias Enard. His work has earned many awards, including the Dublin Literary Award, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and the Premio Valle Inclán.

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