Cop

‘Vivid and engrossing.’

‘An explosive new book by an investigative journalist has drawn fresh attention to police brutality and racism in France … chronicles the author’s training and the six months he spent as a police officer in one of Paris’ poorest districts … its vivid portrayal underlines how France’s history of racism and present-day police tactics have remained relatively unexamined.’

‘A journalist who spent almost six months undercover in a Paris police force witnessed racism, almost daily violence, and a culture of impunity for officers who mistreated civilians … The book’s release follows a period of increased criticism of police in France.’

‘A remarkable coup … True crime doesn’t get more real than this.’

‘A courageous investigation. Cop reveals insights that will be familiar to those at the receiving end of racist policing anywhere.’

‘Informative’

Valentin Gendrot, born in 1988, worked on local newspapers and radio after graduating from journalism college, and carried out several undercover investigations — including working on a Toyota production line and in a Lidl supermarket — before joining the Paris police force.

Frank Wynne is an Irish literary translator, writer, and editor. He has translated numerous French and Hispanic authors including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Javier Cercas, and Virginie Despentes. Over a career spanning more than twenty years, his work has earned him the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and he was twice awarded both the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the Premio Valle Inclán. Most recently, his translation of Animalia by Jean-Baptiste del Amo won the 2020 Republic of Consciousness Prize. He has edited two major anthologies, Found in Translation: 100 of the finest short stories ever translated (2018) and QUEER: LGBT writing from ancient times to yesterday (2021).

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