Fort d ' Ivry Fort d ' Ivry was built in the Paris suburb of Ivry - sur - Seine between 1841 and 1845 as one of the forts in a ring of strong points surrounding Paris . The fort is about 1 kilometre outside the Thiers Wall , built by the same program in response to a perception that Paris was vulnerable to invasion and occupation . The fort was upgraded in the 1870s to cope with improvements in artillery performance as part of the Séré de Rivières system . In 1946 the fort was vacated by the garrison . It is now the home of the Communication and Audiovisual Production Company for the Department of Defense ( " Établissement de communication et de production audiovisuelle de la Défense " , E . C . P . A . D . ) . Description . Fort d ' Ivry dominates a crossroads just to the north of the fort , one of the major approaches to Paris leading to the Porte d ' Ivry in the Thiers wall . The pentagonal fort has bastions at each of its five points . The original construction is in stone , with rough stone for the majority of exterior surfaces and dressed stone for accents , gates and window surrounds . A ditch , which still exists on three sides , lies outside the walls . One side of the fort ' s wall is pierced with 18 casemate s , while the others have a parapet shielding a covered walkway . Casemates are also cut into the flanks of the bastions to provide covering fire along the length of the main walls . Three wells provide water . A central parade ground is flanked by a barracks and two officers ' residences . The main gate is complemented by three postern gates . The fort includes more than two kilometers of underground passages added between 1852 and 1860 , with ceilings six meters thick . The fort was upgraded after the Franco - Prussian War as part of the Séré de Rivières program . A police barracks now occupies the former ditch on the west side , while a variety of buildings occupy the former glacis . The former casemates , barracks and magazine have been redeveloped as offices . History . During the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 the fort was manned by a Fusiliers Marins battalion from Brest , commanded by naval Captain Krantz . It was equipped with 94 artillery pieces . On 29 and 30 November 1870 , the fort supported attacks against the 6th Prussian Corps , located north of Choisy - le - Roi , Thiais and Chevilly - la - Rue . Following an armistice , the fort was occupied by the 6th Prussian Corps from 29 January to 20 March 1871 , bringing batteries of 21 cm and 15 cm mortars to fire at Paris in the event of resumed hostilities . During the Paris Commune which ensued after the withdrawal of the Prussians , the fort was occupied by local townspeople under the leadership of Colonel Rogowski . The Communards were threatened with attack by the French government ' s 3rd Versailles Corps and evacuated the fort during the night of 24 / 25 May , blowing up munitions and destroying nine casemates . Repairs were made in 1872 , adding two more barracks . Roger Degueldre , chief of the Commando Delta organization of the Organisation armée secrète , was executed by firing squad at the Fort d ' Ivry on 6 July 1962 . Jean Bastien - Thiry , found guilty of organizing an assassination attempt against French president Charles de Gaulle on 22 August 1962 , was executed at the Fort d ' Ivry on 11 March 1963 . Bastien - Thiry ' s was the last execution by firing squad in France . ECPAD . The Communication and Audiovisual Production Company for the Department of Defense ( " Établissement de communication et de production audiovisuelle de la Défense " , E . C . P . A . D . ) stores the audio - visual archives of the French defense forces from 1900 to present and produces new materials . Approximately 3 . 5 million photographs and 16 , 800 films are preserved . The archives include collections relating to World War I , World War II and the liberation of France , the Indochina war , Algeria , NATO , UN operations and German - produced material from World War II .