on 5 june 1832, young victor hugo was writing a play in the tuileries gardens when he heard the sound of gunfire from the direction of les halles. the park-keeper had to unlock the gate of the deserted gardens to let hugo out. instead of hurrying home, he followed the sounds through the empty streets, unaware that half of paris had already fallen to the insurgents. all about les halles were barricades. hugo headed north up rue montmartre, then turned right onto passage du saumon (currently called passage ben-aïad), at last turning before rue du bout du monde (currently called rue saint-sauveur). when he was halfway down the alley, the grilles at either end were slammed shut. hugo was surrounded by barricades and found shelter between some columns in the street, where all the shops were shuttered. for a quarter of an hour, bullets flew both ways.