The Fort of Justices (officially Fort Pajol, french: Fort des Justices) was built in the 1860s or early 1870s located in Montrapon-Fontaine-Écu, Besançon,

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

. It was constructed for use in the Franco-Prussian War to stop the Prussian forces from invading from

Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...

, but was never used in battle and was abandoned. It was later demolished in the 1980s. In the 1800s, the French government decided to construct defences as there was a possible war with Germany. The defence of Besançon had hardly changed since the guidance of

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban, later Marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as ''Vauban'' (), was a French military engineer who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the ...

which had provided the city with its

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

, but it was agreed that new fortifications were essential. At least 25 forts were constructed within of Besançon.Official plaque outside the

Fort of Planoise The fort of Planoise is a fortification located on the summit of the hill of Planoise, in Besançon (Franche-Comté, France). Although its location was extremely strategic, the fort was not used during either the first or the second World War. ...

. The exact date of construction is unknown, but it is believed to have been in the 1860s or early 1870s. The construction of the fort was not subject to strategic research, and was the reaction of a possible attack from Germany, explaining the simplicity of the buildings. None of the forts around Besançon were used in the Franco-Prussian War, and the building was abandoned after the war.

Pierre Claude Pajol Claude-Pierre, Comte de Pajol (3 February 1772 – 20 March 1844), was a French cavalry general and political during and after the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Early life He was born in Besançon, as the son of a lawyer. He was ...

was responsible for the location of the fort, and it was designed to flank the Fort of Montboucons. The Fort of Justices was not used in World War One as Besançon was not involved in the conflict, and there is no evidence of it being used in World War Two. The site is believed to have been abandoned just after the First World War, the fort's current location is occupied by the offices of the National Gendarmerie for Franche-Comté, and the fort was demolished in the mid-1980s. The fort measured , artillery was positioned on the front and smallest sides of the fort, and it was designed so the central buildings were protected from attack.

References

{{Coord, 47.2548, N, 6.0082, E, source:wikidata, display=title Justices Demolished buildings and structures in France Buildings and structures demolished in the 1980s Buildings and structures in Besançon