Le Juge Fayard dit Le Shériff (1977)

Jean-Marie Fayard works as an investigating magistrate in a small town in France. In his day-to-day work, his only allies are police inspector Marec and a fellow investigating magistrate, Steiner, who belongs to the union. Fayard is honest, but his impetuous temperament and heavy-handed methods for getting results have earned him the nickname “the Sheriff.” He goes to the Camus factory to notify its director that he is being remanded in custody because one of his employees has just died in a workplace accident—the fourth such case in three years. But Camus’s connections secure his release quickly, while Fayard is soon removed from the case after his superiors make their disapproval plainly clear. Meanwhile, a gas station is robbed, and one of the perpetrators, Paulo, is arrested shortly afterward. Paulo works for a security company run by Xavier Marcheron, an ex-cop dismissed for his ties to the underworld. Marcheron and two of Paulo’s colleagues provide him with an alibi, but Fayard wants to have them convicted of making false statements. Marcheron is summoned by Joanno, a former OAS officer also known as [alias omitted], who has become a wine merchant. Shortly afterward, Marcheron’s body is found at a construction site, riddled with three bullets. Fayard visits Paulo in his cell and learns from him that Marcheron was killed by the men of gangster Simon Pradal, known as “the Doctor,” who is in prison but is still at the head of the Gang of [name omitted]. Realizing he could be killed if he is released, Paulo admits to the gas-station robbery and also tells Fayard that a number of criminals who have so far kept a low profile are planning a spectacular heist, for which they intend to break the “Doctor” out of prison. Shortly afterward, the Doctor succeeds in escaping with the help of Joanno (“the Captain”). Fayard investigates Marcheron’s murder and, with Inspector Marec’s help, finds links between Marcheron and Pradal: on the eve of his murder, Marcheron, the ex-cop, had been in a bar belonging to one of Pradal’s friends. Fayard goes to the bar and threatens to have the place searched. Soon afterward, he receives a threatening letter, finds his apartment burgled, and discovers that his girlfriend Michèle’s rabbit has had its throat cut. Michèle is a teacher. The gang around Pradal and Joanno uses information provided by Lucien Degueldre, managing director of a trading company and known as “Monsieur Paul,” to plan an attack on an armored money carrier loaded with [amount omitted] francs. The attack takes place in a tunnel; one of the robbers, Bouvine, is badly wounded and left for dead at the scene. A guard is also shot dead. The bullets come from the same gun used to murder Marcheron. [The person handing over the money is omitted] hands the stolen money to [recipient omitted], who deposits it in an account at a Swiss bank, accompanied by MP Chalabert. Fayard questions Bouvine, who is in hospital, about who organized the attack. Bouvine reveals that the “Captain” killed Marcheron on the orders of a certain Monsieur Paul, who launders money in Switzerland. Fayard has the known perpetrators of the heist arrested, but they all have alibis. Bouvine, in turn, is murdered by the “Captain” in hospital before he can reveal anything else. The investigation gains new momentum when Fayard discovers that some of the men in custody had matchboxes from a country estate on them. Pradal and Joanno are hiding there. A police raid is organized; Marec is wounded in the knee, while Pradal and Joanno are shot dead. The estate belongs to a trading company run by Degueldre, who fought in Algeria, where he was known as [alias omitted]. Steiner, who has obtained information from Fayard about the trading company and Degueldre, warns him that Degueldre is a major problem and poses a serious danger. Other clues also seem to point to Degueldre. He is the regional head of the Civic Action Service, to which several of the participants in the van robbery belonged, as did Pradal and Marcheron. Degueldre’s questioning, in the presence of chief prosecutor Arnould, turns into a scandal, and Degueldre threatens Fayard. Fayard establishes links between Degueldre and Pradal, who had known each other since the war. Shortly afterward, Fayard’s superiors offer him a promotion and a post in Bordeaux. However, he continues his investigation and, with Steiner’s help, discovers that the shareholders in Degueldre’s trading company also include politicians such as MP Chalabert and Secretary of State Valentis. On his way back to his apartment with his partner Michèle, Fayard is attacked by gunmen. Hit by several bullets as he tries to take cover under a car, he is finally shot in the head in the middle of the street. His briefcase, full of incriminating documents, is taken by the assassin. Some time later, the Camus factories celebrate their takeover by Socotra, a company owned by Lucien Degueldre. The old buildings are to be demolished, and familiar faces appear at the ceremony: Secretary of State Valentis, MP Chalabert, court president Chazerand, Degueldre, and chief prosecutor Arnould. Steiner speaks to the chief prosecutor, telling him that he knows who is responsible for Judge Fayard’s murder and why he was killed. Steiner asks Arnould to give him the Fayard case. Arnould says Fayard left behind an empty file that is insufficient to bring genuine charges. Steiner lets him know that Fayard had given him all the compromising files and that he has already copied them and sent them to other colleagues who could take over if anything happened to him. Arnould accuses Steiner of having pushed Fayard to continue the investigation and of being responsible for his death, then leaves, ignoring Steiner’s request.