Quasimodo, the bell ringer of Notre-Dame, hunchbacked, one-eyed, wobbly, a sort of Cyclops, is condemned to the pillory. He is on his knees, bound on the circular board. The wheel begins to turn and the thin straps of the whip whistle across the shoulders of the wretch. He is then left tied up and exposed to insults and ill-treatment from the mob. “A drink,” implores Quasimodo, panting. The crowd bursts into laughter. “To drink,” repeats the poor man. At this moment we see the populace move aside. A strangely dressed girl emerges from the crowd. She is accompanied by a small white goat with golden horns and carries a basque tambourine in her hand; she approaches the patient and, filling a jug with fresh water, she gently brings it to the wretched man's eager lips. Then a big tear flows into his eye; it slowly falls down his misshapen face and he swears to protect the young girl. A priest, Claude Frollo, archdeacon of Notre-Dame, who raised Quasimodo, abandoned by his parents because of his ugliness, follows the details of this scene with emotion.

Esmeralda accompanied by her goat Djali dances in front of the people and around the Bohemian, as the crowd who loves her call her, all eyes are fixed, mouths open. As she dances, thin, frail and lively as a wasp, with her colorful dress, her bare shoulders, her slender legs, she appears supernatural in the decor that surrounds her. La Esmeralda then begins to collect the donations of the multitude in a tambourine. The coins are raining. Quasimodo, hidden in the crowd, follows her with his eyes eagerly and when the gypsy passes in front of him, he drops a flower into the tambourine. The girl puts it on her blouse and walks away. But the crowd recognized the monster and booed him.

The priest Claude Frollo had felt a strange feeling since the scene at the Pillory, and since that day he had followed in the footsteps of Esmeralda. Obeying an unknown force, he ordered Quasimodo to follow him to a square that the young girl must cross. They are there, both huddled in a dark space, avoiding the white glow of the moon which illuminates the place. La Esmeralda appears followed by her goat. She walks slowly, fearfully. Claude Frollo gives an order and Quasimodo rushes, but he sees the young girl, recognizes the Bohemian, hesitates. The priest comes out of the shadows. The young girl lets out a cry of fear. A rider suddenly emerges from the nearby crossroads. It is Phoebus de Chateaupers, captain of the archers of the King's order, armed from head to toe and sword in hand. He tears the gypsy from Quasimodo's arms, places her across his saddle, and, at the moment when the formidable hunchback rushes at him, the archers who closely follow their captain appear and protect Phoebus. The group moves away. After their departure, the priest reproaches Quasimodo for his behavior; he falls to the knees of Claude Frollo who pushes him away with fury.

Phoebus de Chateaupers is with his cousin Fleur de Lys to whom he is engaged, but the handsome captain is distracted. He keeps thinking about the pretty gypsy he saved last night. One of the young girls surrounding Fleur de Lys goes to the window; she soon calls her companions to show them the spectacle she sees. The Bohemian is indeed dancing on the Parvis and, charmed by her grace, Fleur de Lys demands that she come. A moment later the tapestry door is raised and Esmeralda appears on the threshold of the room, red, stunned, her large eyes lowered and not daring to take another step. On the order given to her, she dances, then it is the turn of the pretty goat Djali. The Bohemian spreads an alphabet on the carpet, each letter of which is inscribed separately on a small boxwood tablet. The assistants are surprised to see the goat pull out certain letters with its golden paw and arrange them by pushing them in a particular order. How dangerous it is to confide your secret to a goat! Fleur de Lys approaches and reads. The letters arranged on the ground form this word "Phoebus". The captain's fiancée faints. She is transported and Fleur de Lys' mother chases away the pretty gypsy from whom Phoebus snatches a meeting.

An old woman bent double, dressed in rags, wearing a cloth on her head, introduces Claude Frollo into the hovel where she lives. The priest knew the place and time of the meeting fixed by Phoebus at La Esmeralda. He examines the room; on the right, a reduced; at the bottom, a window. He throws a purse to the old woman, recommends silence and hides in the cubbyhole. Phoebus is introduced. La Esmeralda is coming soon. The eternal song of lovers begins. The handsome captain wraps his arm around the young girl's waist. A kiss brings them together. Suddenly the priest appears; a dagger lowers; the captain falls mortally struck. La Esmeralda screams and sees Clause Frollo running out the window. We run. The watch soldiers enter and the young girl who had thrown herself on the captain's body is brutally taken away.

La Esmeralda was thrown into a collision; lying on the ground on the straw she thinks of Phoebus. The moon illuminates his prison with a pale glow. The door opens, the priest appears. He promises her freedom if she wants to flee with him. She pushes him away. Claude Frollo begs, threatens, but in vain. Then he rushes at the young girl, but she stands up, draws a dagger from her bodice and keeps the priest at bay, who walks away, swearing revenge.

Esmeralda is going to be judged. She is accused of the murder of Phoebus and the crime of witchcraft. In the large Hall of Judgments, the crowd is held together by soldiers. On the right stands the Tribunal in front of which an empty space has been left for the executioners and the accused. The picture is most picturesque. The gypsy is brought in and in the face of her protests of innocence an order is given. The executioners bring the question. The unfortunate woman is placed on the instrument of torture and the crowd, eager for cruelty, leans forward so as not to miss anything of this terrifying spectacle. The judges announce to the poor child the death of Phoebus. So Esmeralda gives up trying to defend herself. What does death matter to him now? The sentence is rendered. It's hanging.

We are at the top of the towers of Notre-Dame. Paris begins to wake up. A pure white light makes the plans of the thousands of houses stand out vividly to the eye. The river winds and puckers its water over the arches of its bridges. Beneath our feet, the Parvis. A ladder is erected near the permanent gallows. There are some people and many soldiers. A man leads a young girl dressed in white. It's Esmeralda. The man stops at the foot of the gallows. Claude Frollo appears near us in the foreground. His eyes stare at the Courtyard. Sad, he judges his work. Meanwhile the executioner climbs the ladder; he carries the pretty Bohemian on his shoulders. The burden is light. But Quasimodo joined the priest. His eyes also focus on this spectacle. The executioner has reached the top of the ladder. He fixes the knot at the young girl's neck... A moment... and we see the unfortunate Esmeralda dangling at the end of the rope. It turns several times on itself. Then the ringer steps back a few steps, rushes at the priest with fury and with his two big hands throws him into the abyss. Then, on his knees, he cries for the only two people he has ever loved.