Faites entrer l'accusé

What Is the Series About?

Faites entrer l'accusé — widely known by its acronym FELA — is a French true-crime documentary series that has been retracing real criminal cases from France and occasionally neighboring countries since 2000. Unlike single-subject documentary films, FELA is an episodic anthology: each 90-minute episode is entirely self-contained, devoted to one specific criminal affair — a homicide, a rape, a robbery, or an act of terrorism. The cases span from the 1950s to the present day, mixing notorious national scandals with lesser-known regional dramas that never made international headlines.

The series was created by Christian Gerin and first broadcast on France 2 in 2000 under the original season title Histoires de. Over the following two-and-a-half decades, it has grown into one of the most enduring and respected true-crime franchises in French television history, now running across 22 seasons and more than 200 episodes. It is currently available for replay on RMC BFM Play and through the official YouTube channel @FELA-officielle, where selected full episodes are posted.

Format and Presentation

Each episode of Faites entrer l'accusé follows a consistent and carefully crafted structure. A narrator guides the viewer through the chronology of a single criminal case — from the discovery of the crime, through the investigation, to the trial and verdict. The storytelling relies on dramatic reconstructions, archival news footage, courtroom records, and interviews with investigators, lawyers, journalists, and people close to the victims or perpetrators.

Three presenters have led the series since its inception. Christophe Hondelatte (2000–2014) was the founding voice of FELA, whose calm and precise delivery became the series' signature tone. Frédérique Lantieri (2014–2023) maintained the editorial rigor over nearly a decade. Christophe Delay (2023–present) is the current host, continuing the tradition alongside Dominique Rizet, longtime crime journalist and the series' regular on-air commentator.

The consistent presence of Rizet across many seasons provides an important thread of journalistic credibility, grounding the dramatic reconstructions in verified investigative detail.

Cases Covered

FELA's case library is exceptionally broad. Across its 200+ episodes, the series has covered some of France's most debated criminal affairs — including cases like the Grégory affair, Christian Ranucci, the assassination of Judge Michel, and the Omar Raddad case — alongside dozens of cases that were deeply traumatic at a local or regional level but never received sustained national media attention.

Several episodes are available to watch in full on YouTube. Among the verified cases featured in the series:

Le pacte de sang (The Blood Pact)

This episode centers on the murder of José Martins, a 23-year-old French citizen of Portuguese origin, killed on 16 April 1997 in a park in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The case had its roots in 1994 in Fafe, northern Portugal, where a wealthy woman allegedly ordered the killing of her husband. The investigation, led by the French criminal brigade, ultimately unraveled through unexpected testimony. The shooter, identified as Babida, received a sentence of 25 years imprisonment, with the case tried before a French assize court.

L'inconnue de Vernouillet (The Unknown Woman of Vernouillet)

This episode is described as a criminal puzzle with no initial evidence — an unidentified female victim, no witnesses, no obvious leads. The investigation reportedly spanned 18 years before a resolution was reached, ultimately resulting in a sentence of 25 years imprisonment. The case is set in Vernouillet, a suburban commune in the greater Paris region, and illustrates the series' commitment to covering long-cold cases that test the limits of forensic and judicial persistence.

A third episode, Le lit de mort, appears to revisit the same network of perpetrators — Autran and Babida — as featured in Le pacte de sang, suggesting either a companion episode or an expanded re-edit of the Amsterdam murder case.

Production

The production model of Faites entrer l'accusé is built on journalistic access and archival depth. The series is not a sensationalist re-enactment show; it positions itself as a serious documentary enterprise rooted in court records, police files, and the testimony of legal professionals. Creator Christian Gerin established this editorial philosophy from the outset, and successive production teams have maintained it across more than two decades.

The series' musical score has become one of its most distinctive and praised elements. Viewers consistently cite the atmosphere created by the sound design as a key factor in the immersive quality of each episode — a rare acknowledgment, in the true-crime genre, that audio storytelling carries as much weight as visual reconstruction.

Broadcast history reflects the series' resilience: originally airing on France 2, it later moved to RMC Story (2020–2024), then RMC Découverte (2024), and subsequently RMC Life (2025). It has also aired on Planète+ Crime and RTL9. A note for international viewers: Faites entrer l'accusé is not available on TF1+, which hosts the separate series Chroniques criminelles — a common source of confusion. The correct streaming destinations are RMC BFM Play and the official YouTube channel.

Reception

Over 25 years, Faites entrer l'accusé has earned a reputation as the reference point for French true-crime television. Viewer responses — particularly visible in the comments sections of the official YouTube channel — consistently praise the series for its narrative immersion, its respect for victims, and its refusal to reduce complex human tragedies to tabloid entertainment.

Representative audience reactions include comments such as: After years of watching FELA, no other show puts me in the story like this. The music, the atmosphere — a sentiment echoed across thousands of viewer responses.

The series is catalogued on SensCritique across 22 seasons and is described in French critical circles as a documentary with strong emotional and societal impact. It does not have an official IMDB listing, which limits its international discoverability but has not diminished its domestic standing.

No major controversies regarding editorial practices or victim representation have been widely reported. The series is broadly considered a model of responsible true-crime journalism within the French media landscape.

The Series Today

As of 2025–2026, Faites entrer l'accusé continues to produce new episodes under presenter Christophe Delay and commentator Dominique Rizet, with no announced end date. The expansion of the series onto digital platforms — particularly the official YouTube channel and RMC BFM Play — has introduced FELA to younger French audiences and to French-speaking viewers abroad who had no prior access to the broadcast versions.

With more than two decades of episodes now constituting a documentary archive of French criminal justice history, FELA stands as a unique cultural document: a living record of how French society has investigated, prosecuted, and remembered its most disturbing criminal cases from the postwar era to the present day.