the government portrayed the rebels as an extremist minority. louis-philippe had shown more energy and personal courage than his bourbon predecessor charles x had during the july revolution two years before. when the king appeared in public, his supporters greeted him with cheers. general sébastini, the foreign minister, who directed government forces, stated that local citizens caught up in events congratulated him: "they accepted us with cries of "vive le roi" [long live the king] and "vive la liberté" [long live liberty], showing their joy at the success we had just obtained". subsequent identification of rebels revealed that most (66%) were working-class, a high proportion being construction workers. most others (34%) were shopkeepers or clerks.