In March 1970, Paul Ricoeur resigned as Dean of Nanterre after students and police clashed on the campus. Ricoeur had not wanted the police on the campus, fearing violent confrontations, but they came when the faculty of the school could not maintain order. Ricoeur tried to keep the police from entering the buildings, a decision he later regretted because it led to students bombarding police with heavy equipment. In Ricoeur's words, "Nanterre was sacked for three days" (source).