Pickpocket

Michel is an unemployed young man living in Paris. His friends Jacques and Jeanne try to help him find work, but he resists, believing opportunities are beneath him. He also has a distant, strained relationship with his ailing mother, whom he often avoids.

Jacques manages to find him several job leads, but Michel refuses them, insisting they are beneath him. He rebuffs help from both friends, keeping to his pride. This stubbornness distances him further from Jacques, Jeanne, and his sick mother.

Michel steals money from a spectator at Longchamp Racecourse and is arrested. The chief inspector is forced to release him due to lack of proof, leaving Michel free and emboldened. The incident reinforces his belief that he can slip away from consequences.

At a bar, Michel asks Jacques for help finding a job. The chief inspector is there and Michel subtly gloats about his escape. He proclaims that superior men should not be bound by the same laws as everyone else.

Michel is fascinated by the subway pickpocket's graceful movements and tries to imitate the technique. He experiences early successes and feels on top of the world as a thief. The thrill begins to eclipse honest work.

After a week of crime, Michel is caught and forced to lie low. He notices a mysterious man lurking outside his flat, hinting at a profitable partnership. Michel contemplates moving deeper into crime with a partner.

He attends a carnival with Jacques and Jeanne but leaves to steal a watch, deepening the rift with his friends. He later questions whether Jacques is in love with Jeanne, adding to the emotional tension.

Michel's mother falls gravely ill, and he delays visiting. She kindly tells him he has the talent to succeed in life 'whenever you want.' Her words hint at a potential path he could take, contrasting with his criminal path.

After she dies, Michel and Jeanne argue about whether she will go to heaven. He declares that moral rules do not exist, while Jeanne asks if he believes in anything at all.

Michel's two accomplices are arrested, but he escapes. The chief inspector visits his flat to warn him and reveals that Jeanne previously filed a police report claiming someone stole money from Michel's mother, but the report was withdrawn the next day.

Following a conversation with Jeanne, Michel learns that his mother withdrew the complaint, meaning she knew he was the thief. Jeanne is appalled, yet she hugs him, showing a complicated tenderness in their bond.

To avoid the police, Michel flees to London where he resumes pickpocketing.

Two years pass and Michel returns to Paris, having wasted his ill-gotten gains on gambling and women. He visits Jeanne and learns that she had a child with Jacques and chose to be a single mother.

He agrees to get an honest job to support the child, but his old temptations linger. He tails a racing enthusiast to Longchamp and suspects the encounter is a setup.

The sting operation at Longchamp leads to Michel's imprisonment. Jeanne visits him weekly, but after missing three weeks, she returns and Michel kisses her, acknowledging the strange path that brought them together.