Normance

Ferdinand returns home sick from a visit to Jules, the painter he believes has betrayed him. Together with Lili and Bébert, he endures a night of violent bombing while the world around him seems to disintegrate.

He eventually takes refuge in the concierge's lodge, where the other residents — particularly Normance — turn on him. Whether the danger is real or enlarged by paranoia is impossible to fully separate.

Ferdinand leaves Jules feeling sick, returns to his building on rue Girardon and falls into the elevator shaft. He is brought upstairs to Lili and Bébert.

Then the bombing begins.

Through the night, Montmartre seems to shake apart. Ferdinand imagines Jules stationed above the neighborhood like an orchestra conductor directing the destruction. He eventually takes refuge in the concierge's lodge, where the other residents — particularly Normance — turn on him. Whether the threat is entirely real or enlarged by Ferdinand's paranoia becomes increasingly difficult to separate.

At dawn, Ottavio helps Ferdinand back upstairs. He reunites with Lili and Bébert and encounters the actor Norbert in a state almost as delirious as his own. Ferdinand and Lili finally decide they must leave the apartment.