Étienne Lantier, a previously unemployed young man, is hired to work in a mine in the north of France. Highly regarded and listened to, he dreams of changing the workers’ miserable conditions. When the Mining Company decides to lower their salaries, Étienne convinces his companions to go on strike. But will they manage to resist and make the Company change its mind?

Dossiers:Les mines de charbon du nord de la FranceLes Rougon-MacquartGerminal au cinéma