 Florestan has been having an affair with Agathe Coquenard, the wife of the owner of the florist shop where the action takes place.Old Monsieur Coquenard, who flirts with the flower shop girls, is hoping that, despite his incompetence with a sword, his nomination to be a captain in the Garde Nationale will arrive soon.Just arrived in Paris, Hélène (who has never met Florestan) and her aunt, the Countess Ermerance de Champ d’Azur, now visit the shop to buy their corsages for a ball the countess is giving to celebrate her niece's engagement.