During World War 2 the Germans arrested people at random off the streets of Paris and in retaliation to sabotage by the resistance announced the execution of one in ten prisoners. Chosen as one of the victims, lawyer Chavel trades his place with another man in return for all his possessions. At the end of the war he returns to his house and tries to integrate himself with the family of the man who traded places with him, all the while hiding his true identity. However matters are complicated when a stranger arrives claiming to be Chavel.

After a wizard's spell goes awry, 12th-century Gallic knight Godefroy de Papincourt, Count of Montmirail finds himself transported to 1993, along with his dimwitted servant, Jacquouille la Fripouille. Startled and perplexed by modern technology, the duo run amok, destroying cars and causing chaos until they meet Beatrice de Montmirail, an aristocratic descendant of the nobleman, who may be able to help them get back to 1123.

In 1945, as World War Two comes to a close, five small time crooks unite to form a gang. After several bold robberies they become notorious as "the front-wheel drive gang". The police attempt to stop their crime spree with little success, but how long will their luck last?

A young man goes looking for work on a cold, rainy weekday morning in Paris. He buys an umbrella for one franc and finds happiness with a beautiful dancer, who seeks shelter under his umbrella in the rain.

French philosopher Denis Diderot produces the first encyclopedia while indulging in 18th-century decadence.

In this conventional, broadly comic farce of greed and royal matrimony, nearly bankrupt businessman Victor Harris is marrying Maria-Helena, a princess who comes with a dowry that is made up of one half of her island kingdom. Her father, the cowardly King Arnold III is counting on the money this marriage will bring him. The country is now almost bankrupt because of the king's gambling debts. As Harris and the king look forward to their illusory profits from the royal merger, other characters add some liveliness to the otherwise predictable story.

The cynical boss of a big insurance agency invites his top-salary employees to spend a week-end in his country house. A modest clerical worker, also invited, discovers the hidden reason for this party - and decides to take advantage of it.

A former hero of the French anti-Nazi resistance is approached by old comrades to lead a financially struggling liberal newspaper. Initially reluctant, she takes on the challenge, mortgaging her house to keep it afloat. As conservative forces intensify their opposition, she is eventually forced to sell the paper, seeing it as a personal failure.

Nicole, nurse in Grenoble, is raped one night by four men. Deeply scarred, emotionally and physically, she thinks she will never recover from the trauma. Following a friend's advice, she decides to file a lawsuit.

An upstanding provincial reporter becomes presenter of the TV news on a commercial network owned by an influential Italian businessman. He soon outgrows his family and neglects them terribly. Investigating a fascist terrorist cell, the reporter's integrity is called into doubt by the police. Soon after, his jealous wife unleashes her wrath live in TV. It goes from bad to worse until his wife's anger brings him back to his senses and back home.