Act I

We are in 1795, in Toulon…

Jean Valjean, distraught in the face of his sister's precarious situation, steals a loaf of bread to feed his seven nephews... From then on his life changes... He is arrested, sentenced to jail and detained for 19 years, including 5 for having stolen this bread and 14 for several escape attempts...

He will be the convict N° 24601.

The years have passed... In the year of grace 1815, in the heart of the town of Digne, Inspector Javert gives Jean Valjean a yellow passport signifying his conditional release... When he leaves jail, in the hope of a new life, the man quickly discovers that his past as a convict has earned him rejection from everywhere. When he finds work, he is only paid half his salary and no hostel wants to take him in.

Only the bishop of Digne invites him to share his dinner and offers him a good bed.

However, Jean Valjean fled from the bishopric in the middle of the night after having stolen six silver cutlery which were all the wealth of the ecclesiastic. At dawn, the police arrest him. However, the bishop pleads in his favor and, compassionate, donates two candlesticks to him...

Jean Valjean decides to leave town. On the way, he does it again by stealing money from a small chimney sweep, but when he is about to hide the theft in his bag, he sees the candlesticks there again. He hears the bishop's voice. His good words. His compassion. It's like a resonance deep in his soul... From that day on, he will have only one idea in mind: to serve Good!

And here we are already in 1823, in Montreuil sur Mer… Jean Valjean, under the pseudonym of Mr Madeleine, has become mayor of the town and owner of a factory in which he employs, among other workers, a certain Fantine. This unmarried mother is forced to work hard to support herself and her child, little Cosette, placed with the Thénardiers, a couple of villainous innkeepers.

Fantine, abandoned by the man she loved, plunged into misery, resigns herself to selling her hair, her teeth and even her body for the sole purpose of helping her daughter... One day, discovering her very weakened, the Mayor has her hospitalized, swearing body and soul to take care of his child. Unfortunately, Fantine, very sick, will not survive.

Under his new identity, Jean Valjean thought he was safe, but that was without counting on the flair of police officer Javert. Oh yes ! The latter ends up unmasking the former convict and will not stop pursuing him...

1823… Montfermeil.

Cosette is a servant at the Thénardiers, employed for the most thankless tasks... The little girl dreams of a better life... Near a spring, Jean Valjean observes the child in rags and frightened who, at nightfall, is forced to cross the woods to fetch water using a large bucket, far too heavy for her... The next day, Valjean goes to the inn. It is after a painful and long transaction with the crooked tenants that he succeeds in recovering the little Cosette for the sum of 1500 francs. Very quickly, the child and his savior left Montfermeil and moved to Paris.

Paris in 1832…

The poor sing of their misery in the streets of the city. Among them, the young Gavroche, kid from Paris. He is the son of the Thénardiers… In addition, a group of students led by Enjolras and Marius Pontmercy prepares the revolution...

It is by chance during a walk in the Jardin du Luxembourg that Marius and Cosette meet and fall madly in love. Ah! The alchemy of looks! Marius is a young man, in his dashing twenties. He grew up with his grandfather, but the latter kicked him out of the house when he learned that his grandson no longer shared his ideals... For his part, Jean Valjean decides to put an end to the walks in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Thus Marius had no further news from Cosette until the day he learned that his neighbors Les Thénardiers were planning to suppress the former convict. Marius immediately warns Inspector Javert who arrests the innkeepers on the spot, but cannot get his hands on Jean Valjean who, once again, manages to escape him...

Knowing that he was unmasked by Javert, Valjean fled with Cosette. They take refuge in a convent, where a man works that Valjean had helped when he was Mayor of Montreuil. Monsieur Fauchelevent remembers and, grateful, passes him off as his brother, which allows Valjean to work in this holy place as a gardener's assistant and, at the same time, to entrust the education of Cosette to the nuns...

All over Paris, barricades are erected. The Revolution is gaining momentum... Too often, the destiny of a people is played out on the barricades. That of the haves on the battlefield. In both cases, the victims are always the same. Eternal fight between Good and Evil...

Eponine, the youngest daughter of the Thénardiers, secretly loves Marius, which does not prevent her from helping him find Cosette, installed rue Plumet with her protector. Reunited again, the lovers see each other frequently. Moreover, Marius is determined to marry his beloved but, to do so, must ask permission from his grandfather who categorically refuses.

Meanwhile, revolt awaits Paris. The Revolution is taking place… The people roar… The people sing…

The big day is coming soon.

 

Act II

In Paris, it is always very exactly 1832…

On the barricades, Jean Valjean engages alongside the revolutionaries… Having learned that Marius was risking his life on this ground, he goes in search of him… On all sides the tension rises. Government forces retaliate with violence…

In the heart of the chaos, Valjean discovers that Inspector Javert is being held prisoner by Gavroche who plans to execute him. The former convict offers the kid to do the dirty work for him. So he drags the policeman away from the fighting and frees him. Shortly after, Javert kills himself. Perhaps he did not understand that a convict could be endowed with such goodness towards him...

Back to the barricades... We are witnessing a real carnage... Marius' friends, Gavroche and those of the Café de l'ABC, fall under the bullets one after the other... Eponine, mortally wounded, passes away in Marius' arms. The latter, seriously injured, is saved by Valjean who takes him, unconscious, to his grandfather...

Time is passing. It cauterizes wounds… Hope, like a sun, illuminates souls, warms hearts…

Now it's party time. It's wedding time. Marius and Cosette marry. But when Jean Valjean reveals his true identity to the young woman, Marius summons her not to approach him again.

Alone and sad, the former convict wasted away day by day... Later, in agony, Jean Valjean was visited by the young couple who, in tears, begged his forgiveness.

After granting them his blessing, he passed away, serene and reassured… Happy!

"How good it is to see your daughter face to face again before the final trip..."