Fort de Vanves: A Detached Fort of the Thiers Fortifications
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page7 sections
History
Fort de Vanves is a nineteenth-century detached fort in Malakoff, France, built from 1840 as part of the defensive ring created to protect Paris beyond the older customs barrier. It formed one of the sixteen forts of the Thiers fortifications, an outer military enclosure and chain of forts developed under Adolphe Thiers. Construction began on the territory of Vanves, about 3.6 kilometres south of the former octroi wall. The site is now in Malakoff, a commune separated from Vanves in 1883 and formerly known as Châtillon-sous-Bagneux.
Prison after the June Days uprising
In 1848, Fort de Vanves became a prison for hundreds of workers arrested after the June Days uprising. This workers’ revolt followed the closure of the National Workshops, a state-supported employment programme in Paris. Prisoners and their leaders remained at the fort for months while awaiting trial. Sentences could include execution or deportation to remote islands in the Pacific.
The Franco-Prussian War
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, French forces used the fort as the starting point for two attempted breakouts from Paris, which was surrounded by German troops. The first began on 19 September 1870 and was halted between the forts of Montrouge and Vanves at the Battle of Sceaux. On 13 October, the Battle of Châtillon opened with French artillery fire against a sector held by Bavarian forces. German reinforcements then prevented the attempted breakout.
German forces encircled and shelled Fort de Vanves in January 1871. Its garrison surrendered on 28 January, the day Paris capitulated. The siege partly destroyed the fort, which was subsequently reconstructed.
Military administration and intelligence
From 1931 to 1973, the reconstructed fort housed the Central Pharmacy, which had previously been located at Les Invalides. The institution had begun producing France’s first medical thermometers in 1916, before moving to Fort de Vanves. From 1976, the site housed the Central Directorate of Fuels.
From 1995, the fort accommodated the Directorate for Protection and Defence Security, formerly known as the DPSD. This French military intelligence and defence-security organization became the Directorate of Intelligence and Defence Security, or DRSD, on 10 October 2016. The fort no longer performs its original defensive role. It remains owned by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and serves as the DRSD’s headquarters, while also housing the leadership of the French association for military reservists, CSRM.
Remains
Fortifications and entrance
Fort de Vanves survives as a detached fort within the former ring of sixteen forts that surrounded Paris. The large entrance gate remains in place and is closed by an iron gateway. The fort was partly destroyed during the 1870 siege and later reconstructed, leaving a military site whose present form reflects both its nineteenth-century defensive origin and its subsequent rebuilding.
Modern service building
A new service building was inaugurated at the fort on 12 May 2025 by Sébastien Lecornu, France’s Minister of the Armed Forces. It forms part of the site’s continuing use by the DRSD.
