Antonin Berval
Louis Bertain is the owner of a Paris garage which is the front for a robbery gang. He and his accomplices are careful to keep up a civic veneer by day, indulging in criminal activities only when "the red light is on" at night. This status quo is upset when one of the gang members becomes convinced that Louis' younger brother is a police informer.
"Thieves We Are" - In flashback, the audience learns why 104-year-old Amedee steals the watch belonging to the town mayor. The story develops into a history of the watch-thievery business, told in anecdotal fashion.
Tensions mount as the lonely wife of a trucker becomes involved with a gas station attendant.
In Cantagrel, Urbain Coindet, a farmer and town councilor in his forties, finds his wife hanging from a beam in the barn. Aurélie Coindet has committed suicide but not everybody is convinced. The village is soon divided in two conflicting sides, the Republicans who support Urbain and the clericals accusing him of murder, which particularly suits Frédéric, a tobacco smuggler who hates the farmer. Urbain's case becomes even worse as he develops a tender feeling for Jeanne, a sweet young lady who happens to be Frédéric's sister...
In a slum set to be demolished, dramas are played out among the picturesque slum dwellers, including a young couple who, denounced by the police, are forced to leave home.
A respected gangster, Justin, finds himself in a deadly feud with his rival, the unscrupulous Esposito. The latter plans to steal a cargo of opium bound for China and to have Justin killed.
