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France 2 Debuts 'Le Choix de Sonia' as Protected Witness Recounts 2015 Paris Alert

The docu-fiction traces a decade under protection for the woman who says her call helped locate Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

Overview

  • The four-part, 30-minute-per-episode series airs Thursday night on France 2, directed by David André and co-written with journalist Violette Lazard.
  • Production was completed in one day at an undisclosed location under high security with RAID on site, and neither the crew nor the lead actress saw Sonia's face.
  • Sonia recounts hosting a young woman who received a call from her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud and says she alerted police as soon as he identified himself.
  • She has lived for ten years under a protected-witness status with a secret identity, and her children and wider family also use new identities that she describes as burdensome.
  • Despite the toll, she says she would repeat her decision because saving lives outweighs the personal cost.