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The French Connection (film)
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===Comparison to actual people and events=== The plot centers on drug smuggling in the 1960s and early 1970s, when most of the heroin illegally imported into the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] came to the U.S. via France (''see'' [[French Connection]]).<ref name="NYT1972">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/06/archives/the-french-connection-in-real-life-super-sleuths.html|last1=Collins|first1=Larry|last2=Lapierre|first2=Dominique|title=The French Connection—In Real Life|work=The New York Times|date=February 6, 1972|access-date=October 18, 2020|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020230745/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/06/archives/the-french-connection-in-real-life-super-sleuths.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 26, 1968, a record-setting {{convert|246|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}} of heroin was seized, concealed in a [[Citroën DS]] and smuggled to New York on the {{SS|France|1960|6}} ocean liner.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/406671233/ | title=Agents Seize Heroin Worth Record 22M | work=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] | location=New York | date=June 27, 1968 | access-date=October 18, 2020 | archive-date=October 24, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024140051/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/406671233/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/06/27/archives/224million-in-heroin-found-in-car-at-city-pier-narcotics-secreted.html |last=Bigart |first=Homer |title=$22.4-Million in Heroin Found in Car at City Pier; Narcotics, Secreted in Auto Sent From France, Called Largest Seizure in U.S. $22.4-Million in Heroin Is Found Hidden in a Car at Pier in City |work=The New York Times |date=June 27, 1968 |access-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021094307/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/06/27/archives/224million-in-heroin-found-in-car-at-city-pier-narcotics-secreted.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19680626.2.5&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 | title=Biggest Heroin Haul Told | work=[[The Desert Sun]] | location=[[Palm Springs, California]] | date=June 26, 1968 | access-date=October 18, 2020 | archive-date=October 22, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022063353/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19680626.2.5&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 | url-status=live}}</ref> The total amount smuggled during the DS's many transatlantic voyages was {{convert|1606|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}}, according to arrested smuggler Jacques Bousquet.<ref name="Quarterly">{{cite journal |last=Cox |first=Michael |title=Smuggler |journal=The Citroën Quarterly |page=11 |volume=9 |date=Spring 1991}}</ref> Like its two protagonists, several of the film's other characters have real-life counterparts. Alain Charnier is based on Jean Jehan, who was later arrested in Paris for drug trafficking but not extradited, because France does not extradite its citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/97174 |title=Turner Classic Movies spotlight |publisher=TCM |access-date=August 2, 2014 |archive-date=December 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224052655/http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=97174 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sal Boca is based on [[Pasquale Fuca|Pasquale "Patsy" Fuca]], and his brother Anthony. Angie Boca is based on Patsy's wife, Barbara, who later wrote a book with [[Robin Moore]] detailing her life with Patsy. The Fucas and their uncle were part of a heroin-dealing crew that worked with New York crime families.<ref>{{cite book| title= [[The French Connection (book)|The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy]]|year= 1969| isbn= 1592280447 |first= Robin |last=Moore|publisher= Globe Pequot Press| author-link= Robin Moore}}{{Page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Characters not prominently depicted in the film include the special agents and undercover operatives of the [[Federal Bureau of Narcotics]] (FBN), the federal agency primarily responsible for investigating the French Connection, who worked alongside NYPD detectives throughout most of these events until the FBN dissolved later in 1968.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=November 6, 2014 |title=Targeting The Mafia: FBN, Organized Crime, And Drugs |url=https://museum.dea.gov/video-archive/targeting-the-mafia-fbn |website=DEA Museum}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=TRANSCRIPT: "Targeting The Mafia: FBN, Organized Crime, And Drugs" |url=https://museum.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/Targeting%20the%20Mafia%2011062014--Accessible.pdf}}</ref> Henri Devereaux, who takes the fall for importing the film's drug-laden Lincoln into New York, is based on {{ill|Jacques Angelvin|fr|Jacques Angelvin}}, a television actor arrested and sentenced to three to six years in a federal penitentiary for his role, serving about four before returning to France and turning to real estate.<ref>{{cite book| first1=Alain |last1=Bauer| first2=Christophe|last2= Soullez | title= La criminologie pour les nuls| edition =Générales First| year= 2012|publisher=First éd. | isbn=978-2754031622}}</ref> According to the director's commentary, Joel Weinstock is a composite of several similar drug-dealing financiers.<ref>Film commentary{{Time needed|date=August 2014}}</ref>
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