This short was part of the program in theatres where Marcel Carne,s feature, Les Portes De La Nuit , also written by Prevert, opened .
The short was commissioned by the town's progressive Communist official Charles Tillon, who wanted to document the unhealthy living conditions in the area before new housing was built, and to accuse the previous government of collaborator Pierre Laval who was not sympathetic to the working classes, of allowing these conditions to fester.