Henri Diamant-Berger

A night watchman on the Eiffel Tower wakes up to find the entire population of the city frozen in place.

Georges Lachaunaye is a member of an impoverished aristocratic family which needs money to live but of course doesn't want to work for it. He therefore has to think of something drastic in order for the family to survive. And then it comes to him: he'll rob the collection boxes in churches.

Matou is an innocuous, gentle-looking man. He is married to a formidable, even a frightening woman, who is as dissatisfied with him as he is with her. He knows everything there is to know about restoring and authenticating manuscripts, particularly ancient ones, through his job at the museum. One day, it occurs to him that his skills could be put to use in a more personal way, and he embarks on a private career of re-arranging the documents of people who have had the misfortune to be married to the wrong people.

Marcel, a simple-minded factory worker, is tricked into buying a high-priced American convertable car by a widow determined not to let it fall into the hands of her late husband's secretary/secret lover. Once in pocession of the car, Marcel only encounters one bad luck episode after another with the excessive gasoline consumtion, his wife trying to sell it to make ammends meet, getting into traffic jams, accidently riding into a car wash with the top down, and more.

Sasha Voronin, a famous singer about to marry supermodel Nathalie, falls victim to John Darow, who attempts to murder him by knocking him out and throwing him into the sea. Sacha is taken in by fishermen, but he has lost his memory and takes the name Samson. Samson's memory begins to awaken when he hears a familiar tune during a circus performance, and begins to sing. Deciding to leave with the circus troupe, he ends up being hired by the director of a radio station, who launches him on the air under the name of "unknown singer". Nathalie, meanwhile married to John, recognizes his voice and wants to find him; Sacha rejects her because he has fallen in love with Maria. John again tries to eliminate Sacha, then attempts to kidnap Maria. After a mad chase, Sacha defeats John, who is arrested by the police.

Discharged, catholic priest Pellegrin is back to his cure of Sableuse .But the castle has been sold to Nouveaux Riches,the Cousinet ,whereas the former owners ,Monsieur De Sableuse and his son,have settled in the outhouse.

Rejecting the union of her daughter Brigitte with a modest worker, Madame Magnin invents an adultery for the lover, then introduces Brigitte to a good-looking man working on the famous RTF entertainment show 36 Chandelles. The show ultimately seals the reunion of the two estranged young lovers. The story features a parade of music-hall stars from the era: Charles Trenet, Charles Aznavour, Georges Guétary, Juliette Gréco, Roger Pierre and Jean-Marc Thibault, Fernand Raynaud, Georges Ulmer and many more.

It centres on the life of the entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre and his total devotion to studying insect behavior, travelling from Avignon to Paris, from Paris to his death in Sérignan. He is honoured by the French president Raymond Poincaré and his patience, obstinacy and knowledge are also recognised by Napoleon III, the publisher Charles Delagrave and the philosopher John Stuart Mill. They reach their climax in his book, Souvenirs entomologiques.