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{{infobox Book | ]| illustrator =| cover_artist =| country =
United Kingdom| series =| genre = [Spy novel,
Thriller (genre), Historical novel| release_date = 7 June 1971| media_type = Print ([Hardcover & Paperback)]
novel by
Frederick Forsyth, about a professional
assassin who is contracted by the right-wing
Organisation armée secrète France terrorism group of the early 1960s, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France.
The Day of the Jackal is a well-respected novel of the spy fiction genre, praised for its convincing portrayal of France in 1963, and its carefully thought-out plot. It received admiring reviews and praise when first published in 1971, and it received a 1972 Best Novel
Edgar Award from the
Mystery Writers of America. It also is notable for remarkably effective suspense, considering that the Jackal's target, president Charles de Gaulle, is a real historical figure who was not assassinated, and also for its
Realism (arts), which can be related to the real world. Aspects about intelligence, covert operations and firearms are all explored in much detail.
While the OAS did exist as described in the novel, and the film opens with a remarkably accurate re-enactment of the Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry-led attempt on President De Gaulle's life, the remaining plot is fiction.
The story follows the efforts of an extremely professional assassin (hired by an exiled OAS high command) in his preparations to assassinate De Gaulle, and the efforts of an equally professional, but hard-pressed French detective assigned to identify and stop him, along with elements of intrigue and bureaucratic manoeuvring at the highest levels of the French government.
Plot summary
The first part, "Anatomy of a Plot", describes the motives for the assassination. The Jackal has his first and only meeting in Vienna with three OAS leaders and discusses the price of the killing. The rest of the first part describes the Jackal's researches on Charles de Gaulle while in England, the layout of Paris in a reconnaissance trip there, and describes the weapon he plans to use. Little information is given about the nature of his plan. The Jackal sets up multiple false identities and disguises, by forging and stealing passports,
driving licenses, and identity cards.
The second part, "Anatomy of a Manhunt", shows how French Intelligence finds out about the OAS plan and how Inspector Claude Lebel, a French detective hand-picked to find the Jackal, prevents the assassination. In the meantime, the French ministers debate whether or not to inform President De Gaulle, (who is notoriously careless of his personal safety) about the plan.
Pressured by his superiors, Lebel does everything he can to discover the Jackal's identity. He calls upon his "old boy network" of foreign intelligence and police contacts to inquire if they have any records on such a man. Finally, the SIS (British Intelligence) give Lebel the name of Charles Harold Calthrop (his name can be used to spell Jackal in French - Cha Cal), whom they have in their list of suspected assassins-for-hire, and find a match name of a man living in London. SIS raid Calthrop's flat, finding him gone, but deduce he must be traveling on a false passport, because they find his in their search of the flat.
The French police get close to the Jackal a few times, as the British work out both names of false passports, but he evades capture. The Jackal's OAS informant leaks French government information to the Jackal, allowing him to remain ahead of the police, sometimes by just minutes.
In the third part, "Anatomy of a Kill", Inspector Lebel understands that there is one day drawing near on which President De Gaulle will insist upon a scheduled public appearance: Liberation Day, on the
25 August, commemorating the liberation of Paris in World War II. Despite police safeguards, the Jackal reaches Paris; en route killing a woman whom he seduces to gain shelter, then later a man (this time narrowly avoiding being seduced himself).
As the Liberation Day celebrations begin, the French police are alert. The Jackal, disguised as a one-legged war veteran, carrying a custom
sniper rifle concealed in a crutch, passes through the police checkpoints and makes his way to a building facing the
Place du 18 Juin 1940 where De Gaulle will present medals to war veterans. He positions himself, readies his rifle, and places French President Charles de Gaulle in the cross-hairs.
Yet, the Jackal fails to take into account the Gallic custom of
cheek kissing#Southern Europe, instead expecting that de Gaulle will shake hands with the medal recipient. The Jackal fires — de Gaulle simultaneously steps forward, bends to kiss the (much shorter,
De Gaulle was noted for his towering stature) recipient on the cheeks — and misses.
Lebel, meanwhile, inquiring at the checkpoints, surmises that the war veteran with the aluminium crutch is actually the Jackal. He and a Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité officer Pierre Valremy (portrayed by
Philippe Léotard in the 1973 film) rush up to the apartment. When they burst in, the Jackal turns, shoots and kills the young policeman with his rifle.
At last, confronting each other, the assassin and the police detective — who had developed grudging, mutual respect for each in the long chase — briefly look into each other's eyes, the one saying "Chacal" and the other responding "Lebel", before scrambling to kill each other. The Jackal must insert a new bullet into his bolt action sniper rifle; Lebel, not carrying a weapon himself, must reach for and pick up from the floor the dead policeman's MAT-49 submachine-gun. Lebel is faster, and shoots the Jackal with half a magazine-load of bullets, instantly killing him.
When the true Charles Calthrop appears, it becomes apparent to the authorities that no one knows who the Jackal was. Thomas asks, "If the Jackal wasn't Calthrop, then who the hell was he?" The British authorities deny any possibility of the Jackal being a Briton, so the funeral is classified as "an unknown foreign tourist, killed in a car accident", attended only by Police Inspector Claude Lebel;
"The Day of The Jackal was over."
Film adaptations
Influence in real life
- Forsyth was a reporter for Reuters in France at the time and borrowed much of his detail from actual incidents he reported on.
- A copy of the Hebrew language translation of The Day of the Jackal was found in possession of Yigal Amir, the extreme-right militant who assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995. As published in the Israeli press at the time, police investigators believed that the assassination was partially inspired by the book, and that Amir used it as a kind of "how to" manual.
- Real-life terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez was nicknamed "Carlos the Jackal" by the press in reference to the novel, which was found in what was assumed to be his bag (but wasn't). Nevertheless, the nickname stuck.
- The method for acquiring a false identity and UK passport detailed in the book is often referred to as the "Day of the Jackal fraud" and was a well known security loophole in the UK for many years.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3098104.stm
See also
- Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
- Citroën DS#DS in popular culture
- The Jackal (fictional character)
- Assassinations in fiction
- Cordite, the assassin ingests it to look ill.
References
{{infobox Book | ]| illustrator =| cover_artist =| country = United Kingdom| series =| genre = [Spy novel,
Thriller (genre), Historical novel| release_date = 7 June 1971| media_type = Print ([Hardcover &
Paperback)]
novel by
Frederick Forsyth, about a professional assassin who is contracted by the right-wing
Organisation armée secrète France
terrorism group of the early 1960s, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France.
The Day of the Jackal is a well-respected novel of the spy fiction genre, praised for its convincing portrayal of France in 1963, and its carefully thought-out plot. It received admiring reviews and praise when first published in 1971, and it received a 1972 Best Novel Edgar Award from the
Mystery Writers of America. It also is notable for remarkably effective
suspense, considering that the Jackal's target, president Charles de Gaulle, is a real historical figure who was not assassinated, and also for its Realism (arts), which can be related to the real world. Aspects about intelligence, covert operations and firearms are all explored in much detail.
While the OAS did exist as described in the novel, and the film opens with a remarkably accurate re-enactment of the
Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry-led attempt on President De Gaulle's life, the remaining plot is fiction.
The story follows the efforts of an extremely professional assassin (hired by an exiled OAS high command) in his preparations to assassinate De Gaulle, and the efforts of an equally professional, but hard-pressed French detective assigned to identify and stop him, along with elements of intrigue and bureaucratic manoeuvring at the highest levels of the French government.
Plot summary
The first part, "Anatomy of a Plot", describes the motives for the assassination. The Jackal has his first and only meeting in Vienna with three OAS leaders and discusses the price of the killing. The rest of the first part describes the Jackal's researches on Charles de Gaulle while in England, the layout of Paris in a reconnaissance trip there, and describes the weapon he plans to use. Little information is given about the nature of his plan. The Jackal sets up multiple false identities and disguises, by forging and stealing
passports, driving licenses, and
identity cards.
The second part, "Anatomy of a Manhunt", shows how French Intelligence finds out about the OAS plan and how Inspector Claude Lebel, a French detective hand-picked to find the Jackal, prevents the assassination. In the meantime, the French ministers debate whether or not to inform President De Gaulle, (who is notoriously careless of his personal safety) about the plan.
Pressured by his superiors, Lebel does everything he can to discover the Jackal's identity. He calls upon his "old boy network" of foreign intelligence and police contacts to inquire if they have any records on such a man. Finally, the SIS (British Intelligence) give Lebel the name of Charles Harold Calthrop (his name can be used to spell Jackal in French - Cha Cal), whom they have in their list of suspected assassins-for-hire, and find a match name of a man living in London. SIS raid Calthrop's flat, finding him gone, but deduce he must be traveling on a false passport, because they find his in their search of the flat.
The French police get close to the Jackal a few times, as the British work out both names of false passports, but he evades capture. The Jackal's OAS informant leaks French government information to the Jackal, allowing him to remain ahead of the police, sometimes by just minutes.
In the third part, "Anatomy of a Kill", Inspector Lebel understands that there is one day drawing near on which President De Gaulle will insist upon a scheduled public appearance:
Liberation Day, on the
25 August, commemorating the
liberation of Paris in World War II. Despite police safeguards, the Jackal reaches Paris; en route killing a woman whom he seduces to gain shelter, then later a man (this time narrowly avoiding being seduced himself).
As the Liberation Day celebrations begin, the French police are alert. The Jackal, disguised as a one-legged war veteran, carrying a custom sniper rifle concealed in a crutch, passes through the police checkpoints and makes his way to a building facing the Place du 18 Juin 1940 where De Gaulle will present medals to war veterans. He positions himself, readies his rifle, and places French President Charles de Gaulle in the cross-hairs.
Yet, the Jackal fails to take into account the Gallic custom of cheek kissing#Southern Europe, instead expecting that de Gaulle will shake hands with the medal recipient. The Jackal fires — de Gaulle simultaneously steps forward, bends to kiss the (much shorter,
De Gaulle was noted for his towering stature) recipient on the cheeks — and misses.
Lebel, meanwhile, inquiring at the checkpoints, surmises that the war veteran with the aluminium crutch is actually the Jackal. He and a Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité officer Pierre Valremy (portrayed by Philippe Léotard in the 1973 film) rush up to the apartment. When they burst in, the Jackal turns, shoots and kills the young policeman with his rifle.
At last, confronting each other, the assassin and the police detective — who had developed grudging, mutual respect for each in the long chase — briefly look into each other's eyes, the one saying "Chacal" and the other responding "Lebel", before scrambling to kill each other. The Jackal must insert a new bullet into his bolt action sniper rifle; Lebel, not carrying a weapon himself, must reach for and pick up from the floor the dead policeman's
MAT-49 submachine-gun. Lebel is faster, and shoots the Jackal with half a magazine-load of bullets, instantly killing him.
When the true Charles Calthrop appears, it becomes apparent to the authorities that no one knows who the Jackal was. Thomas asks, "If the Jackal wasn't Calthrop, then who the hell was he?" The British authorities deny any possibility of the Jackal being a Briton, so the funeral is classified as "an unknown foreign tourist, killed in a car accident", attended only by Police Inspector Claude Lebel;
"The Day of The Jackal was over."
Film adaptations
Influence in real life
- Forsyth was a reporter for Reuters in France at the time and borrowed much of his detail from actual incidents he reported on.
- A copy of the Hebrew language translation of The Day of the Jackal was found in possession of Yigal Amir, the extreme-right militant who assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995. As published in the Israeli press at the time, police investigators believed that the assassination was partially inspired by the book, and that Amir used it as a kind of "how to" manual.
- Real-life terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez was nicknamed "Carlos the Jackal" by the press in reference to the novel, which was found in what was assumed to be his bag (but wasn't). Nevertheless, the nickname stuck.
- The method for acquiring a false identity and UK passport detailed in the book is often referred to as the "Day of the Jackal fraud" and was a well known security loophole in the UK for many years.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3098104.stm
See also
References
