Teams of French and German officers circulated copies of the document to the scattered groups of Germans still in the city. As for the political situation, de Gaulle's supporters proved to be more astute and better disciplined than their opponents. Taking advantage of the insurrection that began on August 19, they had seized and occupied many of the government buildings and secured the reins of political control. On the day following the liberation, de Gaulle wrote Eisenhower and thanked him for letting Leclerc liberate Paris. Some scattered gunfire came from the rooftops.
Nobody knows who fired.
Then de Gaulle proceeded to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, where a packed church took part in a mass of celebration and thanks. When Hitler learned that Allied troops were entering Paris, he asked whether it was burning. Enraged by the negative response, he ordered artillery, V weapons and planes to destroy the city. His military commanders, however, were busy trying to come to grips with the collapsing military situation in France and making preparations to keep the Allies from entering Germany. To make it clear that Paris had been liberated through the strength of Allied arms, Eisenhower planned to march the 28th Infantry Division through Paris to the front.