Jean-Claude said that the Albanians showed up “from the east six or seven years ago”, at which time there were only about 20 of them. Now they were in their hundreds.
By this stage, the French government is aware of their presence. Sam had reported that the traffickers initially trafficked women from emerging Eastern European countries such as Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria. At some point, they switched to taking European girls who are travelling because it was cheaper. This prompts many questions. What objectives did the government have in place to resolve the problem? How soon after the traffickers’ arrival did the government become aware of them? When did the traffickers’ activities become of concern to the government? Was it even of concern? If so, what is it doing about it?
Jean-Claude didn’t say that the government was doing anything about it. His own offer of support to his friend in finding his daughter was minimal. He suggested that they begin by finding the spotter, but Bryan told him that he found him and that he was dead.
Jean-Claude paused, then asked the question to which he already knew the answer:
“You found him that way?”
Bryan was silent, and Jean-Claude started to respond by telling him that he “cannot just go around tearing down Paris –”
“Jean-Claude, I’ll tear down the Eiffel Tower if I have to!”
Up until that moment, they had talked standing side-by-side, facing forward, and avoiding looking directly at each other. The posture was visually emblematic of their old collegial relationship working side-by-side in the service of their governments. Now, they turned to face one another. The Eiffel Tower is an important historical architecture in France, signifying culture and identity. Britannica tells us that it was built between 1887 and 1889 based on a design by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. Standing at 330m, it was constructed almost entirely of open-lattice wrought iron and 2.5 million rivets. Wrought iron lattice is known for its strength and resistance to corrosion. Therefore, by saying that he would tear down the Eiffel Tower, Bryan was saying, in the strongest possible terms, that there wasn’t anything that would be too much for him to do in order to find his daughter. The declaration, however, could be perceived as ‘fighting talk’, a declaration of war on the history, culture, and the very identity of the nation. He was ready to tear it all down, although having previously worked in the service of preserving these ideologies. Hence, the confrontational stance they now assumed as Jean-Claude reacted with:
“You forget who you are talking to.”
Who is he talking to, Jean-Claude?
“I thought I was talking to a friend”, Bryan fired back hotly, yet appealing to Jean-Claude, querying the essentialities of their relationship.
Jean-Claude brought it back to the politics of his career once again, now mentioning that he sits behind a desk and produces his business card. The distance between them closed as Bryan took the card and perused it.
The card revealed that Jean-Claude had been promoted to Deputy Director of Internal Security since Bryan last knew him. Bryan’s spoken words belied his true sentiments when he said:
“Very impressive”, before quickly returning to the subject at hand. “The Albanians. Where can I find them?”
Jean-Claude directed him to Porte de Clichy, and Bryan immediately headed off, ignoring his friend’s plea not to make a mess. Bryan was a determined man with “a special set of skills” and only a 96-hour window, now reduced by 16 hours, to find his 17-year-old daughter who was taken. His singular focus did not afford him the ability to care about neatness or big job titles.
There is obviously a special message to do with constricted movement that the audience is supposed to understand from Jean-Claude’s proclamation that he sits behind a desk, and doubtless, the message was not missed. However, more intriguing was the idea of ‘the state’. This was introduced the next time Jean-Claude told Bryan that he sits behind a desk. After calling Bryan to meet him, Jean-Claude informed him that the French government had arranged a first-class ticket for him on Air France 001 to take him home. Bryan asked:
“What about my daughter?”
Jean-Claude replied: “I told you, I sit behind a desk now. I take my orders from someone who sits behind a bigger desk.”
This was a powerful testimony reinforcing the idea of hierarchy and constriction. His chief has a bigger desk and therefore has authority over his movements. Can we assume that a bigger desk also means more constriction on the one who sits behind it? Jean-Claude went on to list Bryan’s exploits throughout the city that had created a mess. His chief wanted Bryan’s ass in chains, but he convinced him to send Bryan home. It was the best he could do. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it anymore, Jean-Claude.” Bryan replied, “Not this time.”
“You can’t beat the state, Bryan. You know that.”
There it is. Whatever does he mean? Before now, the understanding was that it was the Albanians who were antagonising shit. Now, he’s dropped this into the mix, and I have to ask, who is the state? What was he trying to say? Or, not say? Without irony, Bryan replied:
“I’m not trying to beat the state.”
Here, it felt like there was inside knowledge that both Bryan and Jean-Claude were privy to, and only people belonging to the same secret club would also share in that knowledge. What conversation were they having? The state? Cambridge Dictionary defines the singular noun ‘state’ as the government of a country. So, what should we understand? Who was Bryan’s actual opposition? It was courtesy of the French government that Jean-Claude had acquired an air ticket for Bryan to go home. Before that, Jean-Claude immediately placed Bryan under surveillance following their first meeting. And now, during their second meeting, there were undercover vehicles, IT specialists, and state-of-the-art technology deployed to pinpoint Bryan’s location for capture.
What does this tell us? It looks like resources are available to conduct investigations, surveillance, and eventual capture of a person of interest. However, manpower, time, effort, and technology were fully mobilised to obstruct an individual within the society seeking a return of something taken. Why on earth were these resources not directed toward fighting the human trafficking issue? There is a will. And there are ways. So, what was stopping them? Was it the state?
Leave a Reply