Lluís Companys, defender of the working classes and farmers, and leader of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, took over from Francesc Macià as president of the Generalitat in 1934. During the Civil War, the Government of the Generalitat, which remained loyal to the Republic, organised the citizens' defence. When Franco's troops entered Barcelona, Companys went into exile in France. Arrested there by the Gestapo, he was extradited to Madrid. On 3 October 1940, he was moved to Montjuïc Castle in Barcelona. On 14 October, he was brought before a summary war council. The following day, at 6.30 in the morning, he was executed by a firing squad.