[5][6] The film, set in the nineteenth century, closely follows the plot of the novel, which is a realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s.

The film begins with Étienne Lantier, an unemployed engineer, arrives at a coal mine named "Le Voreux" seeking work.

Later, he moves in with them because the Maheu family needs the rent money he provides after their eldest son, Toussaint, marries the girl he impregnated.

The director of Voreux, Philippe Hennebeau, lowered the price of each coal cart to encourage the miners to spend more time timbering after the costly accident.

The workers go on strike led by Maheu and Étienne; however, Catherine, influenced by her possessive lover, Chaval, goes to work at Jean Bart, another mine in the area.

Maheude, Catherine's mother and Maheu's wife, kicks her out of the house, and she is forced to live with the emotionally abusive Chaval, while Etienne pines for her.

However, he is unsuccessful; even Catherine is against him, and the miners return to work after a minor interruption until Maheu and Étienne arrive at Jean Barts.

[9] Zola named the novel after the spring month of the French Republican Calendar as a metaphor for the growth or rebirth of people as they realize they no longer have to face exploitation.

[11] In fact, at the time of its publishing, the French population was mostly unaware of the poor working conditions of miners and horrified by this revelation as well as shocked by the idea that they might unite.

[9] The themes in Germinal were very fitting for the time, during which labor relations were strained and the proletariat workforce was heavily exploited as a result of the Industrial Revolution in France.