The Day of the Jackal

In his hotel room in Austria, Rodin devises a plan. He differs from his predecessor in almost every way. As the son of a cobbler, he rose through the ranks of the military by hard graft. Tough campaigns in Vietnam and Algeria left him with a deep loathing of communism and de Gaulle. At first, he was convinced that de Gaulle would deal with the Algerian issue. When de Gaulle offered Algeria independence, he felt betrayed. Alongside many other spurned officers, he participated in an uprising that was quickly put down by de Gaulle. Leaving behind a string of atrocities in Algeria, Rodin returned to France and became deputy to Argoud in 1961. He is organized, cunning, and shrewd. He is as “bigoted” (24) as other members of OAS but possesses a dangerous practicality and logic. Every plan he devises to kill de Gaulle fails, which Rodin attributes to the lack of security following the Action Service’s penetration of the OAS. With morale collapsing and funds dwindling, he feels the need to act. He settles on the prospect of “a man who is not known” (25).

An unnamed Englishman returns to London from Beirut, where he has killed two German missile engineers from the Egyptian government. He has been paid by “a Zionist millionaire in New York” (27).

Almost three months later, Rodin’s search is over. He summons René Montclair and André Casson. They arrive at the hotel room in Austria, where Rodin is staying under a false name. First to arrive is Casson, a civilian who worked as a bank manager in Algeria before turning radical when de Gaulle granted independence to the colony. Now, he coordinates the underground OAS movement in France. Casson is briefly delayed by the looming presence of Viktor Kowalski in the hallway. Kowalski is Rodin’s bodyguard. After Casson is let into the hotel room, they wait for Montclair. René Montclair worked for the French Foreign Legion; his son was brutally killed in Algeria. Both Montclair and Casson are “hardliners even among the OAS” (30). Rodin reveals his plan to Montclair and Casson: OAS has been compromised following their failures to kill de Gaulle, whom they refer to derogatorily as Grand Zohra. Rodin’s solution is simple: they will hire “a professional assassin, a mercenary” (33). He has researched candidates and, they all agree that the best choice is an unnamed Englishman. Rodin does not want to involve the rest of OAS, as he fears for the operation’s security. They agree to schedule a meeting with the Englishman, even though he will “not be cheap” (38).

The blond Englishman receives a telegram through a French intermediary. The intermediary is a nervous young man who accompanies the Englishman to Vienna. The Englishman arrives at the Austrian hotel and immediately notices Kowalski’s presence. After Kowalski is removed from the hallway, he sits for an interview with Rodin, Casson, and Montclair. He knows their identities and guesses their desire. Rodin appreciates the calculating, controlled demeanor of the Englishman, who outlines the difficulty that will face de Gaulle’s assassin: The failed attempts on de Gaulle’s life have raised security to such a point that the assassination will need to be very expensive. Should he take the contract, he would require enough money to retire and hire lifelong protection. His blunt criticisms of the idealistic OAS insult Casson and Montclair, but Rodin is impressed. Nevertheless, he is taken aback by the Englishman’s demand for half a million dollars to kill Charles de Gaulle. The Englishman notes that, since the OAS presumes to “get France itself” (47), then they are buying their country very cheaply. They come to a provisional agreement. The Englishman comes up with his own code name: the Jackal. He will work alone and in secret, having only a single point of contact for the OAS, which he will use at his discretion. The fee will be paid half up front and half on completion. The next day, he flies back to London, leaving the three OAS men to figure out how to raise such an enormous amount of money.

A crime spree erupts across France in June and July, 1963. After interrogating the suspects, the police believe that OAS is behind the robberies of banks and jewelers because they need money fast. General Guibaud, the head of the SDECE, learns that Rodin, Montclair, and Casson have secured themselves inside the penthouse suite of an expensive hotel in Rome. They never leave the building; only trips by Kowalski to the post office connect them to the outside world.

The Jackal ponders how to kill Charles de Gaulle. He studies materials about de Gaulle’s life, finding a French newspaper article that suggests that—due to his personality—there will be a time and place when de Gaulle will almost certainly “stand up publicly and show himself” (56). Since de Gaulle’s security detail is among the best in the world, the Jackal constructs a detailed plan. He waits at a London airport and studies the passengers. Selecting a middle-aged Danish priest, he quietly steals the priest’s passport. He also steals the grip case of a traveling American student, which contains a passport. The Jackal purchases a selection of clothes and hair dyes in London. Next, the Jackal tours a country graveyard and the local parish records for the name of a dead child. He has a real passport made in the name of Alexander Duggan using stolen documents and forged application papers. He destroys any remaining documents and, with a briefcase containing a large sum of hidden cash, travels to Copenhagen and then Brussels.

Paul Goosens is an illegal arms supplier who operates from a small workshop in Brussels. Though he worked with the Resistance during World War II and his work is exemplary, he was accused of embezzling money and sentenced to prison. After his wife divorced him, he made a living by supplying guns to Belgium’s criminal underworld. The Jackal reaches out to him through a contact, and they arrange a meeting. The Jackal wants Goosens to make him a special rifle that can be easily assembled and disassembled. He wants to kill a man standing still at a range of 130 meters. The rifle will need to be silenced, and the Jackal does not believe that he will have the opportunity for more than one shot. The Jackal appreciates the careful, professional way that Goosens thinks about the “work of art” (73). They agree on a price, and the Jackal sets a date for collection. At the end of the meeting, the Jackal drops his amicable façade and issues a cold, direct threat to Goosens in anticipation of any betrayal. Goosens feels a tingle of fear.

Next, the Jackal meets a Belgian forger. He poses as Alexander Duggan and asks for a new driving license and two French documents. The first is an identity card, the second is unnamed but, based on the forger’s reaction, it is challenging. Nevertheless, they set a price, and the Jackal agrees to return on the same date as the rifle collection. They take a series of passport photographs in the forger’s studio. The forger applies make up and has the Jackal dress in disguises, then offers advice on how to match the photograph in which he seems considerably older. As they part ways, the Jackal issues the threat again: If the forger tries to betray him in anyway, then he “will die” (80). The Jackal flies to Paris.

Colonel Rolland, the head of the Action Service, examines two reports. The first details the attempts to surveil Rodin, Montclair, and Casson at the hotel in Rome. The team has been unable to intercept the mail collected each day by Kowalski. In the second report, a former colleague of Kowalski—a Hungarian OAS “thug” (83) named Sandor Kovacs—has been apprehended in Metz. Rolland announces that he has a plan and assembles a team.