At 1:00am, Boumédiène ordered tanks to be deployed throughout the capital at strategic positions such as Grande Poste d'Alger [fr], Radio-Télévision Algérienne, and Place de l'Émir-Abdelkader [fr] (the seat of the party at the time). The film The battle of Algiers was being shot in the capital at the time and there are claims that onlookers thought the military movement was connected to shooting the movie. Around 1:30am, Tahar Zbiri, Said Abid, and colonel Abbes approached Villa Joly and were let in by the replacement guards at the entrance.