Based on actual events, 'Spies of Terror' is a gripping manhunt that doesn’t let up

Lucie Kessler and Malika Berthier have two things in common; they hunt terrorists, and they distrust each other. Can they work together in France’s darkest hour?

A woman stands holding a gun in front of her.

Fleur Geffrier as policewoman Lucie Kessler in 'Spies of Terror'. Credit: Tetra Media / Quintessence

We’re not two minutes into Spies of Terror and already someone is dead. In Turkey, French secret service analyst Malika Berthier (Rachida Brakni) is part of a team hunting for a terrorist known as Abu Omar. “When you find him,” the man they’re interrogating tells them, “it will be too late”. It’s the 13th of November, 2015, and Paris is about to be torn apart.

The same day, in Fleury Penitentiary Centre, commandant Lucie Kessler (Fleur Geffrier) is conducting her own hunt for Abu Omar. She needs names, not aliases, if she’s going to piece together the terrorist network operating in France. In the prison, people are jumpy; some of the Jihadi suspects have made a special request to be allowed to watch television today.

That evening, they’re both off-duty in Paris, living their normal lives with their loved ones. And then everyone’s phones start to ring.

The rest of the episode, and the rest of the series, is a non-stop race to stop a deadly enemy that always seems to have one more trick up its sleeve. A big part of what makes what’s to come so chilling – and so compelling – is the way it mingles the grind of police work with the high stakes of global terrorism. There’s no short cuts to catching the bad guys here; the opening scene illustrates how these things often end, but to get to that stage first you have to identify and locate your target. And in a nation of 70 million there are a lot of places to hide.

Based on the non-fiction book The Spies of Terror by Matthieu Suc, this four-part series follows the efforts by France’s various secret services to track down and roll up the terror networks that were behind the November 13 attacks. While the characters are fictional, the events are real; in the days and weeks afterwards one of the biggest manhunts in Europe swung into action across France and Belgium, following up countless leads and tracking down dozens of suspects in the search for those responsible for one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in Europe’s history.

Rachida Brakni as French secret service analyst Malika Berthier. Credit: Tetra Media / Quintessence

Berthier works for the DGSE, the military organisation who handle France’s external security. Kessler is part of the DGSI, the civilian team (they’re basically part of the police) who take care of internal security. Both organisations failed on November 13; now they’re going to have to work together, despite a bone-deep rivalry that traditionally has them at each other’s throats.

While many of their co-workers, including some at the top, can’t see past their distrust of their fellow agency, Berthier and Kessler soon team up – with the help of Vincent (Vincent Elbaz), Kessler’s boss – to take full advantage of the leads and clues that come their way as they hunt down those behind this deadly wave of French jihadism.

While many of the gunmen and suicide bombers that led the rampage were killed that night, a few escaped and went on the run. Worse, the money men who financed the attacks were still out there – and with a constant supply of angry young people willing to die for the cause, they could easily strike again.

A woman in a grey jacket leans forward, as if talking to a person in front of her.

Lucie Kessler (Fleur Geffrier). Credit: Tetra Media / Quintessance

Berthier and Kessler soon find themselves at the heart of a massive search that stretches out across weeks into months. It’s an intense commitment that soon takes a toll on their personal lives – even if their partners are well aware of the pressure they’re under. The women also have slightly different goals, which adds to the friction between them. Being military, Berthier’s job is to eliminate the threat to France; Kessler, as a civilian and an officer of the law, has to make sure that they have enough evidence to make a case stick.

Across the course of the following year, the pair help trace a web of terror using everything from the suspects’ friends and family to cutting edge cyber-security. As Islamic State falters in the Middle East, their supporters in the West become more desperate and driven to strike another blow.

Every time Berthier and Kessler’s teams thwart one terrorist scheme, another one comes up. Traps are set and evaded, betrayal is common, and the clock is constantly ticking down. It’s a good thing this series is based on actual events; if we didn’t know how things turned out, it might be too stressful to take.

Spies of Terror is streaming at SBS On Demand.