 Bizet greeted with enthusiasm the proclamation in Paris of the Third Republic . The new government did not sue for peace , and by 17 September the Prussian armies had surrounded Paris . Unlike Gounod , who fled to England , Bizet rejected opportunities to leave the besieged city : " I can 't leave Paris ! It 's impossible ! It would be quite simply an act of cowardice " , he wrote to Mme Halévy . Life in the city became frugal and harsh , although by October there were efforts to re @-@ establish normality . Pasdeloup resumed his regular Sunday concerts , and on 5 November the Opéra reopened with excerpts from works by Gluck , Rossini and Meyerbeer . 
