As stones shattered the windows of the imposing edifice, Lagaillarde's storm troops brought up a truck and rammed the iron grille gates. Lacoste's military adviser, Ducournau, tried to temporise with Lagaillarde, telling him "You're mad, you'll wreck everything!" But the mob surged on into the building, hurling down the bust of Marianne in the foyer. In a matter of moments Lagaillarde was realising his ambition of the night before. Students appeared at every window, flinging out sheaves of documents and dossiers. Standing on the roof of the central balcony that was to become the focus of world attention over the next few days, Lagaillarde was greeted in the midst of this snowstorm by wildest applause. A kind of euphoria seized the crowd, and was to hold it in its grip for many days to come.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 868