The Jackals mistakes

2. Hotels in many parts of Europe require foreigners to show their passports at registration and that information is compiled and presumably sent to the local police. Even if it were not true in the early 1960's, the French would have made it a requirement knowing the plot against DeGaulle and as a means to track the OAS members.

You might recall the scene where the registration cards were collected at the local police station, prior to Lebel getting a call of Duggan's whereabouts. Those cards were obviously in use prior to the plot.

He knew he was going to kill the guy in the bathhouse anyway? Why potentially ruin his next avenue by lying?

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Mistakes:
picking up the rich milf; added a descriptive witness.
Not realizing the bodyguard in Austria was eavesdropping on the first meeting; it was his info (rendered via torture) that gave the law the basics of the plot.
visiting the rich milf! he probably assumed he could hideout there but didn't realize the cops have questioned her.
KILLING the rich milf. had he just said no about staying and vanished in the night she probably would have just chalked the affair up to an odd adventure and forgotten about it.

As others have said, 1. He wasn't driving like a banshee, just fast for understandable reasons. The other car caused the crash - accidents happen. 2. a requirement of getting a room, 3. totally necessary 4. part of maintaining credible cover.

But his REAL, glaring error was in not popping de Gaulle straight away. Instead he let him stand to attention in full view for the entirety of "La Marseillaise" before having a go.

1. In the book there is no crash. He's driving fast because he needs to get away from a place called Gap as fast as possible because he needs to get through the security cordon.

2. The identity of Duggan was established for this purpose. He was required to present a passport to get a room.

3. It doesn't matter. It's on his papers anyway. If he didn't need papers, he wouldn't need an address.

4. This doesn't matter either. We know what is going to happen anyway. He doesn't break cover.

In the book, the Jackal actually has an extra identity. First is the unknown Englishman who appears at Pension Kleist. Second is Duggan. Third is a Danish clergyman. Fourth is an American called Marty Schulberg and finally, Andre Martin.

He needs identities so he can spend them before the police can track him.

Regarding #1, I got the impression the Jackal was tired and sleepy; he was yawning. He was also probably under a lot of stress. That tends to lead to mistakes.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

I think his biggest (and ultimately fatal) mistake was not having a pistol in addition to the rifle. At the end, when they burst in on him, he was able to kill the policeman immediately with his already loaded, single-shot rifle. But then he couldn't kill the detective before the latter picked up the machine gun and killed the Jackal.

If he had space in his exhaust system to hide the rifle, he surely would have had space to also hide a small pistol that, like the rifle, he could break down and reassemble. That would have allowed him to kill the two policemen easily and still have the loaded rifle remaining for a second shot at de Gaulle.