Squad 36 2025

A police officer named Antoine Cerda [Victor Belmondo] grows increasingly uneasy as his old colleagues and squad mates are murdered one after another, about six months after he is transferred to a different unit. A tense street chase unfolds around a man named Mahmoudi, who is tailed by a plainclothes unit. The pursuit spins through a cafe, the metro, and a taxi ride, turning into an elaborate, high-stakes pursuit that underscores the unit’s preference for surveillance over straightforward arrests. Mahmoudi, aware he’s being followed, slips away at critical moments, and the chase ends with Antoine narrowly failing to bring him in, a decision that weighs on him long after the scene ends. Back at the Anti-Squad’s headquarters, the unit’s leader, Charles [Yvan Attal], cautions them against staging such dangerous public displays, especially when public safety is at stake.

After the shift, Antoine slips away to Marcus’ illegal fighting den, a secret life that Hanna [Juliette Dol], his girlfriend and fellow Anti-Squad member, publicly condemns yet privately understands. Antoine seeks the thrill and the money these rings offer, both to appease a lingering need from his troubled past and to stay connected to the friend who trained him in fighting. He eventually wins a decisive match, but the aftermath erupts when attackers close in, leaving Antoine to defend himself and causing him to face disciplinary scrutiny. Although his past achievements keep him from suspension, a transfer to the Bobigny police department places him in a new orbit of danger and secrecy.

Six months later, the murders continue: Vinny, a former teammate, is found dead, and soon after Walid disappears under the same shadow. Sofia, the wife of another officer, comes to Antoine seeking help, revealing a network of fear that extends beyond a single person. Antoine’s digging leads him to Richard Esteves [Soufiane Guerrab], a colleague who had struggled with anxiety after a botched off-the-books mission for a powerful drug lord. Richard’s friend Victor (a fellow dissenter) helps paint a picture of a forcing machine built from fear and coverups. To press further, Antoine contacts Kristina, a woman connected to Richard, and, driven to find him, he steals 5,000 euros from the police evidence room to pay for information. A masked attacker kills Kristina, and Antoine narrowly escapes again.

With the Anti-Squad unraveling, Wagner, the unit’s boss, and Charles lean on Antoine to stay away from the case, hinting that the highest levels of the force are involved. Yet Antoine’s determination pushes him to press on, even when Hanna is shot as a warning on her bike. The squad fractures further: Sami Belkaim’s leadership wavers, and the team’s attempt to steal two million euros from Mahmoudi’s drug network backfires spectacularly, pulling Richard into a deadly confrontation that Mahmoudi uses to bend the police toward his vengeance. Richard’s death and the wife’s murder spur a cascade of fear and truth-seeking among the surviving officers, as the truth about Mahmoudi’s influence and the conspiracy behind the murders comes into sharper focus.

Antoine discovers a web of betrayal that reaches beyond the squad. The stolen money from Mahmoudi, the lies kept by higher-ups, and the hidden alliances between law enforcement and crime all point to a far-reaching cover-up. Sami’s choices, Richard’s notes, and the missing funds reveal a plan in which the police force uses off-the-record operations against criminals while sacrificing the foot soldiers who carry them out. In a climactic confrontation, Charles ends Mahmoudi’s threat, while Sami, cornered by guilt and fear, makes a final, fatal choice. Yet even as the antagonist is neutralized, Antoine’s pursuit of truth remains unquenched.

In the end, Antoine is murdered by the same fighter who had beaten him earlier, a brutal act that caps a career defined by grit and sacrifice. He is honored posthumously with a promotion to police commissioner, a symbolic tribute that stands in stark contrast to the hidden rot within the force. The official version pins Mahmoudi as the killer in a police encounter, preserving a narrative that absolves the department from accountability, while the more painful truth—of corruption, manipulation, and violence masquerading as justice—remains buried beneath the surface of the city.