Character Analysis
This Little Piggy Went to Market
Collignon is a nasty man—and we mean nasty in all ways—who runs the produce stand in Amélie's neighborhood. He's abusive mentally and physically to his assistant, Lucien, often humiliating him in front of customers.
So Amélie takes her revenge.
When Collignon accidentally leaves his key in his apartment door, Amélie finds it and makes a copy so she can enter whenever she wants. She pulls a variety of cruel pranks on him—thing like changing his shoes for a smaller size, replacing his toothpaste with foot cream, dimming all his lights—all of which make him think he's going crazy. This is Amélie's way of being a Good Samaritan to Lucien—you know, by tormenting his awful boss.
Collignon isn't all bad, though. He tells Amélie to visit his parents when she's looking for information on Bredoteau. His overbearing mother gives us a little clue as to where Collignon gets some of his personality from, and Amélie bonds a bit with his aging father, who once punched metro tickets and now, in a fit of dementia, punches holes in plants with a hole punch. "We all need a way to relax," he says, and Amélie shares her way—skipping stones—with him.