The story of how the people of Paris cope with the strains and struggles of war, from the siege of the city by the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 to the invasion by the Germans in World War II.

The widow of a soldier in the 1914-1918 war, running an inn called "Au rendez-vous des veterans", is happy to see her daughter in love with an officer whose father was once in love with La Madelon.

Pépé le Moko, one of France's most wanted criminals, hides out in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows police will be waiting for him if he tries to leave the city. When Pépé meets Gaby, a gorgeous woman from Paris who is lost in the Casbah, he falls for her.

Provincials visiting Paris take the drug of Professor Jouvence, which rejuvenates them with the scabrous consequences that one can imagine.

Georges is a lover of women, of all women, without exception. One fine day, a young girl like no other, a savage, will come into his life. Will Georges fall in love and experience the joys of marriage despite his love of women?

Panurge, a poor laundress, breathes in the smell of fish glue all day long but grows a meager flower in a tin can. He falls in love with the washerwoman, whose virtue is threatened by Fred's feline seduction. But Panurge and his gentle melancholy disarm fate.