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Origin and history

The Bois-d'Arcy battery is one of the fortifications erected at the end of the 19th century to protect Paris, as part of the Séré de Rivières defensive system. Built between 1874 and 1878, it strengthens the western link of the defences of the capital, under the initial name of Fort de Bois-d'Arcy. Its strategic location, in Bois-d'Arcy in the Yvelines, met the needs of surveillance and response to the external threats of the time.

In the 1960s, the battery was transferred to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, marking a turning point in its use. From 1969, the Centre national de la cinématographie (CNC) became its official manager and installed the Archives françaises du film, giving it a heritage and cultural vocation. This change reflects the adaptation of former military sites to civilian missions after the Second World War.

The battery is recognized for its historical and architectural importance, which leads to its registration as historical monuments by order of 15 February 1991. Today, its entrance at 7 rue Alexandre Turpault, near the Bois-d'Arcy stop house, recalls its dual heritage: military by its design, and cultural by its reuse. It is part of a wider network of fortifications of the Yvelines, including works such as the Fort de Saint-Cyr or the Batterie de Bouviers.

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