At the same time, French troops commanded by André de Foix Lord of Lesparre, made up of 12,000 infantry with heavy artillery, crossed the Pyrenees.

When the population of Pamplona rose up, the Viceroy of Navarre, Antonio Manrique de Lara, 2nd Duke of Nájera fled the city on 17 May for Alfaro, La Rioja, being assaulted on the way and robbed.

Among the Spanish occupants was the Basque captain Íñigo López de Loyola (who later took the religious name of Ignatius), who was wounded at both legs during the bombardment.

Helped by errors of General Lesparre, who went with the bulk of his troops to besiege Logrono, without securing the recovery of the Kingdom, the Spanish decisively defeated the Navarrese and French in the Battle of Noáin on 30 June 1521.

While recovering from injuries sustained during the battle, Íñigo López de Loyola (later taking the name Ignatius) underwent a religious conversion that led him to write Spiritual Exercises and later found the Jesuits.