diff --git a/fr.po b/fr.po
index 851fbc2..7ed5be5 100644
--- a/fr.po
+++ b/fr.po
@@ -197,8 +197,11 @@ msgid "force overwriting of existing files"
 msgstr "force le remplacement des fichiers déjà existants"
 
 #: gcp:545
-msgid "preserve  the  specified  attributes"
-msgstr "garde les attributs spécifiés"
+#, python-format
+msgid "preserve  the  specified  attributes; accepted values:\
+'all', or one or more amongst %s"
+msgstr "garde les attributs spécifiés; valeurs acceptées : 'all' ou\
+un ou plusieurs éléments parmi %s"
 
 #: gcp:551
 msgid "don't fix filesystem name incompatibily"
@@ -245,12 +248,9 @@ msgid "Progress bar is not available, deactivating"
 msgstr "La barre de progression n'est pas disponible, désactivation"
 
 #: gcp:595
-msgid ""
-"Invalid --preserve value\n"
-"valid values are:"
-msgstr ""
-"La valeur de «--preserve» est invalide\n"
-"Les valeurs valides sont:"
+#, python-format
+msgid "Invalid --preserve value '%s'"
+msgstr "Valeur de --preserve invalide « %s »"
 
 #: gcp:616
 #, python-format
diff --git a/gcp b/gcp
index 9ed8fd1..a6d7c47 100755
--- a/gcp
+++ b/gcp
@@ -566,7 +566,8 @@ class GCP():
         )
         parser.add_argument("--preserve",
             action="store", default='',
-            help=_("preserve  the  specified  attributes")
+            help=_("preserve  the  specified  attributes; accepted values:\
+                   'all', or one or more amongst %s") % str(const_PRESERVE)
         )
         parser.add_argument("-L", "--dereference",
             action="store_true", default=False,
@@ -646,22 +647,26 @@ class GCP():
         if options.no_fs_fix:
             options.fs_fix = 'no'
 
+        preserve = set()
+
         if options.p:
-            if not options.preserve:
-                options.preserve = const_PRESERVE_p
-            else:
-                options.preserve += ',' + const_PRESERVE_p
+            preserve.update(const_PRESERVE_p.split(','))
 
         if options.preserve:
-            preserve = set(options.preserve.split(','))
-            if not preserve.issubset(const_PRESERVE):
-                error (_("Invalid --preserve value\nvalid values are:"))
-                for value in const_PRESERVE:
-                    error('- %s' % value)
-                exit(1)
-            options.preserve = preserve
-        else:
-            options.preserve = set()
+            preserve.update(options.preserve.split(','))
+            preserve_all = False
+            for value in preserve:
+                if value == 'all':
+                    preserve_all = True
+                    continue
+                if value not in const_PRESERVE:
+                    error (_("Invalid --preserve value '%s'") % value)
+                    exit(1)
+            if preserve_all:
+                preserve.remove('all')
+                preserve.update(const_PRESERVE)
+
+        options.preserve = preserve
 
         self.__sourcesSaving(options, args)
 
diff --git a/gcp.po b/gcp.po
index 6ab447d..335adce 100644
--- a/gcp.po
+++ b/gcp.po
@@ -120,7 +120,9 @@ msgid "force overwriting of existing files"
 msgstr ""
 
 #: gcp:321
-msgid "preserve  the  specified  attributes"
+#, python-format
+msgid "preserve  the  specified  attributes; accepted values:\
+'all', or one or more amongst %s"
 msgstr ""
 
 #: gcp:324
@@ -140,9 +142,8 @@ msgid "Progress bar is not available, deactivating"
 msgstr ""
 
 #: gcp:345
-msgid ""
-"Invalid --preserve value\n"
-"valid values are:"
+#, python-format
+msgid "Invalid --preserve value '%s'"
 msgstr ""
 
 #: gcp:354