The Fort d'Aubervilliers is a former fortification of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

built for 1842 to 1846 in

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''. Geography Localisati ...

to control the "route de Flandre", now

Route nationale 2 The Route nationale 2 (N 2) is a route nationale in northern France. Route Paris-Soissons-Laon- La Capelle-''Belgium (N 6)'' History The N 2 was initially defined in 1811 as ''route impériale'' 2, running from Paris all the way to Amsterdam via ...

, to the northeast of Paris. The Fort d'Aubervilliers is part of the first ring of Paris fortifications outside the old city walls built by

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

in the 1840s to defend the capital against invasion and to control the city's rebellions.

History

Early history

The Fort d'Aubervilliers formed part of a line of outlying forts surrounding the Thiers wall, which was begun as part of a program proposed in 1830 to fortify Paris. Property was acquired in 1841 and work began in 1842, with completion in 1846. The fort is pentagonal in shape with five bastions. Six casemates defend the main entry, with posterns on other faces. There are two sets of thirteen casemates on the side facing the front. Two original powder magazines were superseded by newer, better-protected magazines in 1874. The fort was used during the First World War as a workshop for the filling of toxic gas artillery shells by the French Army. The fort made the first phosgene shells used by the French Army starting in August 1915.

Radioactive contamination

Frédéric Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

and Irène Joliot-Curie carried out studies on radioactivity at the Fort d'Aubervilliers during the 1920s and 1930s. The Curies worked with salts of

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

226. Later on experiments carried out by the army to support nuclear tests in

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caused serious contamination to the fort. Decontamination started in 1990 by the ''Agence Nationale de gestion des Déchets Radioactifs'' (National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management) (ANDRA). 61 barrels with caesium-137 and

radium-226 Radium (88Ra) has no stable or nearly stable isotopes, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. The longest lived, and most common, isotope of radium is 226Ra with a half-life of . 226Ra occurs in the decay chain of 238U (often referre ...

contamination are still stored at the fort, together with 60 cubic meters of contaminated soil.

Dominique Voynet Dominique Voynet (born 4 November 1958) is a French politician who is a member of Europe Écologie–The Greens. She is the former mayor of Montreuil and was a French senator for the ''département'' of Seine-Saint-Denis. Life Dominique Voy ...

, former senator and minister of environmental affairs, stated that there were new areas of contamination on the site in 2006. An article in ''Le Parisien'' alleged that there were excess incidents of cancer in the area.

1979–2012

The Fort d'Aubervilliers is surrounded by garden allotments and adjoins the Cimetière de Pantin. It gives its name to the Fort d'Aubervillers station of Line 7 of the Paris Métro, opened in 1979. A barracks housing a unit of the

Mobile Gendarmerie The Mobile Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie mobile) (GM) is a subdivision of the French National Gendarmerie whose main mission is to maintain public order (from crowd control to riot control) and general security. Contrary to the Departmental Ge ...

riot force uses the fort's entrance.

Bartabas Bartabas (born Clément Marty, 2 June 1957) is the performing name of a French horse trainer, film producer and impresario. He created his first theater company at age seventeen, and later founded the performing troupe, Cirque Aligre. In 1984, he ...

, a horse trainer and show presenter, has used the site since 1998 for presentations, with a horse ring, stage and restaurant on the site The rear part of the site is used as an automobile salvage yard.

Projects

The fort site has been the subject of numerous studies for urban renewal, such as a new location for the

Bichat–Claude Bernard Hospital The Bichat–Claude Bernard Hospital ( ) is located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, and is operated by Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP). It was founded in 1881 as lHôpital Bichat'' (after Xavier Bichat), incorporati ...

or the construction of a velodrome, but the radioactive contamination problem has prevented action. Some land will be freed when the riot police detachment leaves the fort. Architect Philippe Madec has proposed that about 2000 dwelling units be built on the site, to be built in 2015-2020. The fort's ditch is to be retained to provide a green space surrounding the development.

References

External links

Maadec plan for the Fort d'Aubervilliers
{{Aubervilliers Fortifications of Paris Radioactively contaminated areas Buildings and structures in Seine-Saint-Denis