in december charles left paris for normandy to build up his strength before his final showdown with the dauphin. he returned to paris in february 1358 where he allied with the provost of the merchants, etienne marcel. however, by july the dauphin had gained the advantage in the power struggle; he had the support of the french aristocracy, the parisians, provoked by the presence of english and navarrese guards within the city, were also increasingly sympathetic to his cause. philip answered charles’ call for reinforcements by assembling a considerable force drawn from the garrisons of normandy and brittany. composed mainly of englishmen the army also included such veteran captains as robert knolles and hugh calveley and philip's marshal john fotheringhay. before philip could arrive the mood of the city had completely turned against the king of navarre who had been forced to barricade himself in saint-denis with his guards. on 31 july paris rose up against and destroyed the regime of etienne marcel, the provost himself was killed by the mob. charles now resolved upon a full alliance with edward iii. on 2 august charles and philip led their army to the north side of the city where they occupied the abbey and suburb of saint-denis, apparently preparing to take the city by assault. however evening the same day the dauphin entered paris by the porte saint-antoine. all hopes of capturing paris now lost; the navarrese army withdrew to mantes.