The application scope of the past tense is very narrow, generally only used in literary works or historical events, completely divorced from the present (that is, irrelevant to the present).

Passe compose is widely used, and can even replace the simple past tense. For example, when describing actions completed in a completely past time, you can use both the composite past tense and the simple past tense.

Mr Camus's narrative characteristics: every sentence is a gift. But this is not the kind of uncertain and diffuse present that extends to the latter present. The sentence is clean, flawless and self-contained; There is nothing between it and the next sentence, just as Descartes' moment and the next moment are separated. Between each sentence and the next, the world dies and recovers: once a sentence is written, it is a creation out of nothing; A word from an outsider is like an island. We jump from one sentence to another and from nothingness to nothingness. Mr. Camus chose the compound past tense to describe it, just to emphasize the isolation of each sentence. The general past tense is used to indicate continuous time. These words point to a past tense and a future tense; The fact of a sentence is a verb, a transitive and transcendental action. Il s 'est promene longtemps masks the verb nature of verbs; Verbs are divided into two parts: one is the past participle that loses any transcendence and is passive as an object, and the other is the verb "etre", but it only has the meaning of an auxiliary verb here, and its function is to connect the past participle with nouns, predicates and subjects; Transitivity of verbs disappears and sentences solidify; Now the noun has become its fact. It is no longer a bridge between the past and the future, but a small, isolated and self-sufficient entity.

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This is Douban's interpretation of The Outsider, which explains Camus' mastery of tense. I personally don't know Camus very well, so I can't give you a good explanation. You can read this article.