Elite Force - GIGN: The New Thriller Series with Tomer Sisley

Elite Force (GIGN) is the new French thriller series debuting on July 22, 2026 on Netflix. Director Leclercq in 2010 had already recounted a real GIGN intervention with The Assault, dedicated to the hijacking of an Air France flight from Algiers to Paris in 1994. Pauline Dauvin, VP of Original French Programming at Netflix, has defined Elite Force as one of the major events of the 2026 French programming, emphasizing that "beyond the action, there is also an intense family drama" at the center of the story.

The Plot, Tomer Sisley and the Weight of Command

David, played by Tomer Sisley, is a unit chief who believed he could leave fieldwork behind. But when an attack strikes the GIGN at its core, he is forced to resume leadership. An invisible enemy, armed with stolen military explosives, intensifies the attacks getting closer and closer to the heart of the squad. David must track him down while protecting Max, his twenty-five-year-old godson who just entered the unit, despite all attempts to keep him away from that world.

The plot develops on two parallel tracks: the hunt for the attacker and the protection of Max, son of a colleague fallen in service. As David gets closer to the enemy, the past he believed buried resurfaces. The narrative structure recalls that of the best European thrillers, where action is never an end in itself but serves to reveal the inner fractures of the protagonists.

A Cast Between Known Faces and New Actors

Alongside Sisley, Guillaume Gouix plays Cedric, a colleague in the unit. Gouix, who will also appear in Nothing To Lose, the French Netflix Original movie also releasing in July. Géraldine Pailhas, already protagonist of Marseille – the very first French Netflix Original series – plays Mélanie, David's wife. The role of Max is entrusted to Tristan Zanchi, an emerging face seen in the French adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons from 2022.

Authenticity as Added Value

The series is one of the first French television productions to benefit from the support of the GIGN elite unit, guaranteeing authenticity in training sequences and tactical operations. This approach also reflects the will to restore dignity to a corps that operates in the shadows, far from the spotlight.

Leclercq directs all eight episodes, maintaining a stylistic coherence that could make the difference. Tomer Sisley, before immersing himself in the role of David, has gone through various productions. Géraldine Pailhas has worked in Marseille. Julien Leclercq has directed Wages of Fear with Alban Lenoir, a new adaptation of the classic that divided critics but confirmed his ability to manage tension and action.