André Soutine

André Soutine is the Security Director of the Tour’s Organising Committee, introduced as the official presiding over a security briefing. His role is chiefly procedural: he controls the meeting’s opening and supplies its closing summary, lending the proceedings a grave, institutional frame as other officials debate a disputed ultimatum.

Identity and Introduction

At the briefing, Soutine first checks that the gallery is clear of unauthorised personnel. He asks Suzanne whether anyone is with her, then instructs Jacques to have the meet-and-greeters escorted out of the auditorium and the doors locked. Once told these precautions are already in place, he takes a sip of water and calls the meeting to order.

Soutine identifies himself by name and title, welcoming those present on behalf of the Tour’s Organising Committee. The narration describes his expression as resembling that of a television newsreader announcing a president’s death. The comparison, together with the hush in the hall, makes the security gathering feel like a public emergency even before the substantive discussion begins.

Conduct of the Briefing

Soutine’s introductory remarks follow a familiar official pattern: thanks, introductions, announcements, and a short mission statement. The narration characterizes his delivery as a grave monotone. He then yields the floor to the business of the meeting, acting less as an individual investigator than as the formal chair of a security apparatus.

The briefing examines an ultimatum and the grounds for discrediting it. After division heads present their assessments, none of the theories lends credibility to the ultimatum as it stands. Soutine provides a summary at the end of the session, described as droning and intended to bring anyone who had dozed off back up to date. His bookending of the meeting contrasts with the livelier debate that follows.

Narrative Role

Soutine’s limited but clearly defined presence establishes how tightly controlled the briefing is: access to the auditorium is checked, visitors are removed, and the doors are secured before proceedings begin. His grave manner gives the official gathering a tone of crisis, while the subsequent informal arguments expose the uncertainty beneath its orderly form. As the session closes, voices rise and officials debate among themselves; Yves Dauresse is especially anxious to hear the Brigade Criminelle’s view of the letter. Soutine’s role is to open and summarize that process, not to resolve the dispute himself.