The French Dispatch, also stylized as The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, centers on the written tales and adventures of the eclectic writers employed by the titular magazine. At the very beginning of the film, we learn that the editor-in-chief of the publication, Arthur Howitzer Jr., has died of a sudden heart attack, prompting a final farewell issue of the magazine per his rigid instructions.
The following anthology tales represent the entries in the final issue, beginning with a brief cycling tour of the fictional French town of Ennui-sur-Blasé.