Grenoble, 24 August 1924.
A series of period photographs of Grenoble is presented: deforestation, demolition of the city walls, earthworks … Émile, a journalist at Le Petit Dauphinois, attends the speech by Marius Blanchet, an industrialist and general commissioner of the event, as the foundation stone is laid for the International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism. On stage, before the gathering, Marius Blanchet is accompanied by: Paul Mistral, Member of Parliament and Mayor of Grenoble; Léon Jaussely, architect and planner responsible for the city's development, improvement and expansion plan; and Andry Farcy, curator of the Museum of Painting and Sculpture. In the crowd, Émile – with a small moustache, jersey jumper and a flat cap – is concentrating on taking notes in preparation for his forthcoming article.
Paul Mistral then takes the floor again and speaks about the changes being made in Grenoble to modernise the city. New black-and-white images illustrate his remarks: a military parade and the city's expansion plan. The mayor concludes his speech by emphasising the importance of the International Exhibition as part of Grenoble's drive towards modernity. Émile finishes taking his notes and declares that he now has everything he needs to write his article. The front page of the following day's edition of Le Petit Dauphinois, 25 August 1924, features an article entitled 'Let us mark yesterday as a red-letter day'. A pile of newspapers fills the entire page, and we see Émile leaning against a car, in the square in front of Le Petit Dauphinois' offices in Grenoble, watching a young newspaper boy shouting himself hoarse: 'Petit Dauphiné, today's edition'.