“Save Fort Boyard”: public consultation before works costing 44 million euros

The works, which will begin in 2025, will primarily consist of rebuilding certain protective structures of the fortress, with concrete that will reproduce the appearance of the original granite.

Fort Boyard, a symbolic military building turned television, is threatened by climate hazards and must undergo works worth 44 million euros by 2028, the department of Charente-Maritime announced on Friday, April 19, which is launching a public consultation.

Planted in the Atlantic Ocean, between Oléron Island and Aix Island, this monument is from the 19th century “destined to fail” lack of protection against wave attacks, the community, owner of the site since 1989, claimed in a press release. “Studies (…) conclude that Fort Boyard will inevitably fail if the structures that should ensure its protection from currents and waves are not built”we can read.

Available to the public after work is completed

The works, planned from 2025 to the end of 2027 – the beginning of 2028, consist of the reconstruction of certain protective structures that existed in the past, with concrete that restores the appearance of the original granite: the branch at the front of the building, the landing shelter, the berm )… At the end of the project, the Fortress should become “accessible” to the public, specifies Sylvie Marcilly, president of the department, in a video broadcast by the community.

The estimated budget is 36 million euros without tax, and the departmental council voted to approve up to 44 million euros for this work, entrusted to the group coordinated by ETPO (Spie Batignolles).

Subsidy requests “they are in class” with the state, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the European Union. A call for patrons will go out in the fall of 2024. The community unveiled its preliminary consultation Friday, titled “Save Fort Boyard,” and registries are open to the public from May through September. An educational exhibition was also set up.

Mythical ambience

Built between 1803 and 1857, a former military structure turned prison, Fort Boyard fell into disrepair before it was listed as a historic monument. It was bought in 1988 by Jacques Antoine, a producer of television games, the following year it was sold to the department for a token franc, with the latter being responsible for its maintenance.

The show “Fort Boyard”, launched in 1990 in France, spawned more than 1,500 episodes of this successful game show in forty countries, making the fort a star. Throughout the year, sea trips take thousands of people to admire the oval silhouette of the 68 x 31 meter monument, which can only be approached by boat or helicopter.