Fort de Bicêtre The Fort de Bicêtre is a military structure built between 1841 and 1845 during the reign of Louis - Philippe during a time of tension between France and England , in the Paris suburb of Kremlin - Bicêtre . The fort is part of the Thiers Wall fortifications of Paris , built under a program of defensive works initiated by Adolphe Thiers . The fort served as a prison for those involved in the French coup of 1851 . Occupied by the Prussia ns in 1871 , the fort was briefly occupied by " communards " during the Paris Commune . After 1874 , under the direction of General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières , the ring of Thiers fortifications was reinforced by a second ring of forts , reflecting the increased range of artillery during the intervening years . The Fort de Bicêtre was not modernized at this time , since it was considered too close to Paris to be useful . From 1940 to 1944 the fort was occupied by German troops . After World War II the fort remained a military post , successively accommodating an artillery unit , an Marine infantry battalion , and from 1946 a military radio facility . Description . In the 1840s , prime minister Adolphe Thiers proposed that Paris be transformed into a fortified city . The Thiers plan envisioned a wall around the city , reinforced by a ring of forts in the city ' s suburbs . Built between 1841 and 1845 , the Fort de Bicêtre was one of seventeen bastioned forts . The forts were cited in advance of the city walls to keep an enemy out of artillery range of the capital . As a result of shortages of money , manpower and materièl , some of the forts ' armament and personnel were drawn from the Navy . The Fort de Bicêtre was initially commanded by naval " Capitaine de Frégate " Fournier , with an armament of 86 artillery pieces . Like many locations around Paris , the ground under the fort had been tunneled and quarried for stone . These quarries were sealed or fortified . Like all of the detached forts , the Fort de Bicêtre was composed of an enclosing masonry wall with battlements and interior earth embankments , and was surrounded by a cleared glacis . WIth an area of , the fort is pentagonal in shape , enclosed by a wall , ditch and counterscarp . Entry and drawbridge . The fort is entered by a large gate with flanking guardhouses . A counterweighted Poncelet drawbridge originally spanned the ditch . Magazines . The magazines , located in the bastions flanking the entrance and on the fort ' s surface amount to in area , holding fifty tons of black powder . The rectangular magazines are constructed of stone with wall thicknesses of over two meters , with a blast wall at the main door to limit damage in the event of an explosion . The interior of the magazines has two levels , with wooden floors , fastened with wood pegs or bronze nails to avoid inadvertent sparks . The top of the magazine was protected by a lightning conductor . Officers ' quarters and barracks . The officers ' quarters are joined with the troop barracks along the " place d ' armes " . In 1859 - 60 a separate infirmary was constructed to free space for married officers . The barracks was a four story building , accommodating about seven hundred men . The roof was a terrace , less prone to fire than a roof , and offering a firing platform under combat . The ground floor housed the mess halls and non - commissioned officers ' quarters . A separate kitchen was later built to expand the barracks . Only one well remains of the barracks , which have been replaced by more modern buildings . Casemates . The Fort de Bicêtre features thirty casemate s in two groups of fifteen , one located between bastions 2 and 3 , and the other between 3 and 4 . The casemates measure by , on a vaulted platform covered with earth . Three mortars for close defense were located on the south side . Each casemate protected a thirty - eight - man gun crew . At present , the casemates have been renovated as office space . Latrines . Located behind the barracks and officers ' quarters , the latrines were served by an aqueduct system . History . Construction to the Second World War . In 1851 the Fort de Bicêtre was a prison for plotters in a " coup d ' état " against Napoleon III . Several casemates were transformed into jails to hold prisoners before execution or deportation . During the Franco - Prussian War , the Fort de Bicêtre and the other southern Paris forts were shelled by the Prussians . In early 1871 the French government capitulated and the Prussians occupied the fortifications of Paris . Bicêtre was occupied by the Prussian 6th Corps from 29 January to 20 March 1871 . As the Prussians began to withdraw in March , the Paris Commune uprising took place , occupying several southern forts including Bicêtre . After bloody attacks by French government forces , the " communards " left the fort during the night of 24 – 25 May . In 1914 the fort was again manned by naval personnel . During the Second World War , the Germans occupied the fort , a strategic point on the road to Fontainebleau . The Germans built three concrete blockhouses , a subterranean hospital and a water reservoir . The hospital totaled in area under of earth and of concrete . The facility also sheltered a command port . The reservoir was used in the 1960s as a swimming pool . After the Second World War . From 1946 , the fort was transformed into a military radio communications facility manned by the 1st Battalion of the 8th Transmissions Regiment . From 1949 the Munitions Service ( ERGM ) moved to Bicêtre from Versailles and the " Etablissement Régional du Matériel des Transmissions " was moved there from 1967 . From 1968 the " Etablissement annexe du Matériel des Transmissions " ( EAMT ) became the " Centre Spécialisé des Transmissions Nord " ( CST Nord ) . In 1979 the fort acquired the " Direction des Transmissions d ’ Infrastructure / Administration Centrale " DTI / AC ) . In 1983 the " Centre de Contrôle des Fréquences " ( CCF / Nord ) moved to Bicêtre from Mont Valérien . In 1991 the " Centre National de Soutien des Transmissions " arrived at the fort , becoming the " Centre de Soutien Spécialisé des Transmissions 2 " ( CSST2 ) . In 1992 the " Direction Centrale des Transmissions " ( DCT / DCTSI / DCTEI ) arrived . In 1994 CSST2 amalgamated with CSST1 in Suresnes and CSST3 in Toulouse to become the " Centre National de Soutien Spécialisé des Transmissions " ( CNSST ) . In 1996 the " Centre d ’ Études et de Réalisation des Systèmes d ’ Information de l ’ Armée de Terre , Bureau Architecture Études " ( CERSIAT / BAE ) was created to manage Army information technology . In 1997 the " Système d ’ Information des Formations de l ’ Armée de Terre " ( SIFAT ) appeared . From July 2003 the units were reorganized into the " Direction interarmées des réseaux d ' infrastructure et des systèmes d ' information " ( DIRISI ) under the Ministry of Defense . Public access . Since it is still used by the Ministry of Defense , the fort is closed to the public . However , tours are organized for European Heritage Days in September .