"Lupin" on Netflix, the hugely successful series that raises debates

Launched on January 8, 2021 on Netflix, the series Lupin with Omar Sy quickly met with great success internationally. A real feat on the part of the French television series, she succeeds where many of her sisters have failed: breaking into the United States. Indeed, Lupin is the first French series to enter the US top 10 of Netflix where it climbs to the first place on January 10, 2021. And since success rarely comes alone, many debates have been raised following the release of the series. Debates mainly focused on the choice of Omar Sy as the contemporary reinterpretation of the gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin. Deemed totally incoherent by his detractors via a wave of comments on Twitter, the modern reinterpretation of the literary figure created by Maurice LeBlanc by a black man would be too subversive and disinhibiting the historical values of the character and the time.

Controversy over the socio-historical context of Arsène Lupin's novels and serial adaptation

To recontextualize, Maurice LeBlanc's novels and short stories featuring the figure of the gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin were published from 1905 (Arsène Lupin gentleman-burglar) until 1939 (Les Milliards d'Arsène Lupin). A posthumous novel was published in 2012 by Editions Balland (Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin). Arsène Lupin is therefore, as you will have understood, a gentleman burglar evolving in French bourgeois society during the Belle Epoque (1880 – 1914). Born noble and well-to-do, he takes advantage of his status and influence as a cover for his second identity and to accomplish his misdeeds when dusk arrives. A fine strategist and man of taste, Arsène Lupin never resorted to violence to carry out his crimes. His only recourse is his class, elegance and intelligence which serve him to use the art of disguise with skill. Following a very specific code of honour, it never steals from women or the poorest, even if it is less profitable to attack the latter. The main argument of people not satisfied with the choice of Omar Sy as a reinterpretation of Arsène Lupin is his skin color. Not credible and inconsistent with the socio-historical context of the history of Arsène Lupin's novels according to them. Nevertheless, the Afro-descendant population was beautiful and well present in France in the 1900s. Severiano de Heredia (1836–1901), first president of the municipal council of Paris in 1879-1880. Elected deputy of the Seine from 1881 to 1889 and Minister of Public Works under the government of Michel Rouvier in 1887 for six months, he led various struggles to guarantee more social justice and improvements in social life for the most precarious workers. Hegesippe Jean Légitimus (1868 – 1944), deputy of Guadeloupe, played an essential role in the development of the West Indian socialist movement. Elected deputy in 1898 and president of the general council in 1899, he was the instigator of a movement towards progress during these political years. To refer to Omar Sy and his recent performance in Chocolat, Rafael Padilla aka "Chocolat", artist-clown. Great circus star of the late 19th^century, he is particularly known for his actions with sick children. These "forgotten of history" are an integral part of the history of France and in this current debate, it is important to recall their impact and their existence in the latter. Obviously, it wasn't just black people in recognized fields such as politics or culture. Many Afro-descendants were already living and working in France at that time. A look at History in this polemic on the choice of Omar Sy in the contemporary figure of Arsène Lupin to, first, highlight a part often too little valued of History and, secondly, raise and point the finger at very current themes.

Reincarnation of Arsène Lupin in a modern^21st century

Omar Sy embodies in the series, not the great Arsène Lupin, but indeed one of his fervent fans and his modern spiritual reincarnation: Assane Diop. A revealing character of current social issues, he also confronts the figure of Arsène Lupin who, in the course of his adventures and repeated thefts from rich bourgeois, gets lost and becomes himself those on whom he has always cracked. In the serial adaptation Lupin, Assane Diop faces, with more or less subtleties, a system full of social inequalities. Son of Babakar Diop, a Senegalese immigrant turned driver for a wealthy businessman, he sees his world crumble when the latter is wrongly accused of stealing a necklace belonging to his boss. A disillusionment ensues for the young Assane Diop: his father is sent to prison where he tragically dies. Cleverly, the British showrunner and screenwriter Georges Kay (Criminal) chooses, to embody the skill, the audacity, but especially the dimension of camouflage specific to Arsène Lupin, as heir of modern times of the latter, a black character. Beyond a simple transposition, there is here a desire of the creator of the series to renew the literary figure of Maurice Leblanc and adapt it to the^21st century. Arsène Lupin thus becomes the French icon like Sherlock Holmes for the British to be brought up to date and modernized. "I wanted to show the France through the eyes of a character of different ethnic origin (…), who without being a Robin Hood could burst the bubble of the French Establishment," he said in an interview with AFP. One thing is certain, it is that this choice surely had the desired effect. Revealing and highlighting certain strong themes, including inequalities and social conflicts from a different and unusual angle, the Lupin series is punctuated by different plots studded with references to Maurice LeBlanc's novels. Finally, the series remains a great success. With its incredible aesthetics, its intriguing atmosphere and its rhythm, pulsed by the few intrigues and winks to the burglar-gentleman, it represents a sympathetic, pleasant entertainment with a progressive aim. Finally, Lupin has the great merit of having relaunched worldwide the sale of Arsène Lupin's novels by Maurice LeBlanc. The discussion of a season 2 is already strongly considered and requested by fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCmuYqeeNpc