Fort Boyard is a fort located between the Ile-d'Aix and the Ile d'Oleron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits, on the west coast of France.

The construction of the fort had been considered after the completion of the arsenal in 1666, but Vauban famously advised Louis XIV against it saying "Sir, it would be easier to catch the moon with the teeth than take on such an endeavour in such a location".

The fort was actually started under Napoleon in 1801, in order to protect the coast (and especially the arsenal of Rochefort) from possible incursions by foreign (and especially British) navies. At that time, cannons only had a limited range, and the distance between the two islands of Aix and Oleron was too large to block the passage.

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