In a few months, the famous maritime fortress located between the island of Aix and the island of Oléron (Charente-Maritime) will be entitled to titanic work.
Tuesday, during a conference organized on site, the department of Charente-Maritime and the Heritage Foundation launched the call for donations for the restoration of the Fort Boyard . Indeed, the building built in 1866 is in danger. “It’s been a little less than ten years since we noticed that the stones are moving. In fact, they are subject to assaults from the sea which, with climate change, are becoming more and more turbulent”Antoine Weber, executive producer of “Fort Boyard” on France 2 told us last May. “A “shore break” was created because of the movement of Boyard’s tether. This very powerful wave crashes against the north face of the fort, passes over it and penetrates inside.had insisted Henri Mondin, production director.
To protect the citadel, the Departmental Council, to which it belongs, has planned to undertake colossal work which will begin this summer and if all goes well, Fort Boyard will have found its rocky spur and its mooring port in 2028. But these The work has a cost: 36.6 million euros, excluding taxes. Charente-Maritime will contribute 21.6 million euros and nearly 6 million will come from public funds. The department and the Heritage Foundation hope to find the remaining 9 million euros from the French and patrons.
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“The heritage is twofoldwould like to remind Antoine Weber. There is physical heritage, a historic building to save, and there is television heritage”adds the executive producer. And for good reason. Since 1990, “Fort Boyard” has been the highlight of France 2 every summer. And for now, the game presented by Olivier Minne is not destined to stop. Not even during the work.
“Adventure Line Productions will obviously make a donation”
Antoine Weber, executive producer of “Fort Boyard” on France 2
So, next May, production teams will have to deal with construction vehicles. But the bulk of the work must begin in 2026. “There will mainly be work at sea which will consist of “scraping” around the fort, so it will not be incompatible with our filming.says Antoine Weber. And if they have to make noise, the workers will work on evenings when we are not filming or on “off” days. We’re going to give them our shooting schedule. There is a very virtuous circle with Charente-Maritime because they know that the program is important for us and for them. There is obviously no question of handicapping us in our work organization.”
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Tenant of the premises, the company Adventure Line Productions plans to put its hand in its pocket. “The production will obviously make a donationassures the executive producer. But we are already participating in many other ways. There is the rent that we pay which amounts to a minimum of 100,000 euros guaranteed for a season which lasts around 8 weeks. And for each additional day of filming for foreign countries, we pay 3,500 euros. There is also our infrastructure, we monitor and control the place so we can give some tips. ALP also plans to appeal to the generosity of France 2 viewers. “France Télévisions agrees in principle. Now in what form, we don’t yet know.”
Once the work is completed, the fort will finally be accessible to the public. “It is important for the Heritage Foundation that the fort becomes a place that can be visited. As there is a call for donations, the public must be able to access this place that they are going to save. The form of the visits has not yet been defined but everything is done in good harmony with the department which is perfectly aware that we want to protect the magic of the show. The department will tour the building but will not tour the game. Obviously, visitors will not be able to miss certain elements of “Fort Boyard” but the goal is not to visit our cells and tell the story. history of the ketchup shop or the treadmill. On the other hand, there are discussions about what they will have the right to show or not”concludes Antoine Weber.
