 Gen. Challe criticised what he saw as the government's treason and lies toward French Algerian colonists and loyalist Muslims who trusted it , and stated that

During the night the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (1e REP), composed of 1000 men and headed by Hélie de Saint Marc, took control of all of Algiers' strategic points in three hours.The units directly involved in the putsch were the 1st and 2nd REP, the 1er REC and the 14th and 18th Regiments of "Chasseurs Parachutistes".Together they comprised the elite units of the airborne divisions of the French Army.