L'Argent

A young man, Norbert, enters his father's study to claim his monthly allowance. His father obliges, but Norbert presses for more, citing a debt he owes a schoolmate. The boys take the counterfeit to a photo shop and use it to purchase a picture frame. When the store's co-manager finds out, he scolds his partner for her gullibility. She chides him in return for having accepted two forged notes the previous week. He then decides to pass off all three forged notes at the next opportunity. He uses them to pay Yvon, a delivery driver, for delivering heating oil. Yvon tries to pay his restaurant tab with the forged notes, but the waiter recognizes them as counterfeit. Yvon is arrested, and the photo shop people lie at his court trial. Yvon avoids jail time, but he loses his job. One of the owners of the photo shop recognizes Norbert on the street with a group of his school friends, and she approaches the school authorities and complains to them about him. When the Chaplain quizzes some of the students about the counterfeit bills, Norbert leaves the classroom. At home, his mother advises him to deny everything, and she goes to the photo shop with a bribe for the owners to let the matter rest.