It reached number 4 in the French singles chart in March 1967, selling over 400,000 copies.[1][2]
The song was referenced by French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou in the Assemblée Nationale to indicate his feelings towards his former Finance Minister, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who was a harsh critic of his successor Michel Debré: "As Jacques Dutronc says, there is a cactus here". The comment made front-page news.[2]
A live cover of the song was released as a single by Vanessa Paradis in 1994.