Using a format similar to a news broadcast, the show satirized the political world, media, celebrities, French society, and international events.

Some sketches displayed for example Raymond Barre, a former Prime Minister in a homosexual gonzo pornographic scene, Philippe Séguin (then candidate for Paris Mayor) in sadomasochist performances, President Jacques Chirac and his team in a Pulp Fiction–like destruction race to eliminate their competitors or the then-Minister of Interior Department Nicolas Sarkozy and foreign affair minister Dominique de Villepin as head of rival criminal gangs in a Sin City and in a Gangs of New York parody.

President François Hollande appeared as a Catholic priest in a parody of The Exorcist where (then presidential candidate) Lionel Jospin was possessed by a demon.

Environment Minister Ségolène Royal was shown as victimized by an electric car named Corinne in a parody of John Carpenter's Christine.

One controversial parody (Inglorious Cathos) showed the Pope Benedict XVI hiring (in a scene more reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen) a commando of 3 bishops (a paedophile, a Holocaust denier, a radical traditional catholic) to fight the infidels.

The popularity of Chirac's puppet has undeniably played a role in his 1995 election as Les Guignols had become a major broadcaster of biased political opinions.

"[6] Les Guignols created mixed reactions regarding their provocative coverage of the September 11 attacks, for example when they portrayed Osama bin Laden triumphantly singing "It’s Raining Planes", or by depicting George W. Bush as mentally challenged.

The characters appearing in Les Guignols are based on real personalities of the political, economic and artistic worlds; generally, anybody deemed newsworthy.

[9] Bruno Gaccio, prior to the French presidential election of 2007, was said to have admitted that he meant the Guignols to openly campaign against Sarkozy, but later stated that he had been misquoted.

[14] Programs of the Guignols family exchange latex moulds, and puppets representing foreign celebrities can be used as "normal people" in countries where those personalities are not well-known.

In September 2020, U.S. broadcaster Fox greenlit an adaptation of the series, Let's Be Real, with plans to air a one-off special on 1 October themed around the 2020 United States presidential election.