Col. Rodin: We are not terrorists, you understand. We are patriots. Our duty is to the soldiers who've died fighting in Algeria, and to the three million French citizens who have always lived there.The Jackal: [bluntly] And so you want to get rid of him [President de Gaulle].
Col. Rodin: [after a pause] Speaking as a professional, do you think it's possible?
The Jackal: It's possible. The point is getting away with it. And speaking as a professional, that's a very important consideration.
Though attempted, Charles de Gaulle [1890-1970] was not assassinated in the bestselling 1971 Frederick Forsyth novel, nor in the popular 1973 fictional movie, nor in reality; he died of an aneurysm out of office.
de Gaulle's war memoirs are regarded as the 20th Century's finest.
