Germinal

In Montsou, the miners work hard and are not spared from accidents that sometimes prove fatal. Etienne Lantier, in his twenties, arrives from Lille to try and make his mark after a series of incidents. He is hired at the mine and discovers…

Hennebeau announces to the miners that new work sites will be opened, but there are fewer of them than teams and the price of a skip is set too low. As anger rumbles, Etienne tries to convince the local residents to set up a solidarity fun…

The strike breaks out and is particularly well attended at all the pits. It even gained momentum in the face of inflexible management. It was the beginning of another hellish period on the horizon, that of hunger. The meagre savings of the…

The march quickly took on the air of a revolution. At the Jean Bart shaft, strikers destroyed the installations, forcing the miners to the surface. The crowd of miners then headed for the other shafts. Everywhere they went, they engaged in…

Despite all this suffering, the workers still refuse to give up the strike. Perceived as the strike leader by the authorities, Etienne had to go into hiding to escape the gendarmes. He only goes out at night to join his comrades. The situa…

Etienne realized his failure and fell into despair. Some, like Maheude, don't want to give up, but they're in the minority. Most agreed to go back to work. But they don't know that Souvarine, true to his principles, has sabotaged the Voreu…