l'avaient

they had …

→ le
phrase Rare #33,778
they had … The l’ is an object pronoun meaning “it,” “him,” or “her”; its exact meaning depends on what follows.
FR: Ils l'avaient déjà rencontré.
EN: They had already met him.

Les eunuques l'avaient allumé pour cacher leurs vols.

The eunuchs had set it on fire to conceal their thefts.

— Le Dernier Empereur (1987)

Mais les frères Maillard l'avaient retrouvé sa trace.

But the Maillard brothers had tracked him down.

— The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)

Ils l'avaient promis.

They had promised it.

S'ils l'avaient donné à n'importe quel imbécile, j'en aurais eu un.

If they’d given it to any idiot, I would have had one.

— Aucun autre choix (2025)

Deux personnes l'avaient vu rôder autour de la ferme dans la nuit du crime.

Two people had seen him lurking around the farm on the night of the crime.

S'ils l'avaient pas fait, ils seraient encore en vie.

If they hadn't done it, they'd still be alive.

— Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Ils m'ont dit qu'ils l'avaient fait pour nous.

They told me they had done it for us.

Ils ne l'avaient pas relâché ?

Hadn't they released him?

— Je suis toujours là (2024)

Franchement, ces parasites l'avaient bien cherché.

Frankly, those parasites had it coming.

Que ton père avait fait le malheur des femmes qui l'avaient adoré.

That your father had brought misery to the women who had adored him.

— Volver (2006)

Je pensais qu'ils ne l'avaient pas apporté.

I thought they didn't bring it.