Often characterized as spirited and rebellious, the people of Paris first declared themselves an independent commune under the leadership of Etienne Marcel in 1355–58. The storming of the Bastille in 1789 was the first of a series of key actions by the Parisian people during the French revolution. Paris also played a major role in the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. In 1871, during the Franco-Prussian war, the city was besieged for four months until France surrendered. After German troops withdrew, French radicals briefly established the commune of Paris. During World War I the Germans were prevented from reaching Paris, but they occupied the city during World War II from 1940 to 1944. Paris was again the scene of violence during the student riots of 1968.