Fort de Pierre-Levée, Defense fortress in L'Île-d'Yeu, France

Fort de Pierre-Levée is a rough tan-grey stone complex near Port-Joinville. Its main three-storey block has tall arched windows with stone surrounds on the lower two floors and a central round-arched gateway; a recessed upper storey with small rectangular windows sits under a low pitched roof. A long single-storey wing with a row of arched windows and doors extends to the right.

Built from 1858 to 1866 as a classic work of 19th-century military architecture, the fort was designed to house four hundred soldiers and their officers. It replaced the older Pierre Levée fortifications, a quadrangle of four bastions, an arrow and a lunette recorded on the Napoleonic cadastre. From 1871 it served in turn as barracks and state prison. Philippe Pétain was transferred there in November 1945 and held until June 1951, when failing health allowed him to move to a house in Port-Joinville, where he died weeks later.

Locals call the fort "la Citadelle" or simply "le fort". Since the 1960s it has served as a holiday camp and leisure site; a marquee pitched in the courtyard in 2005, when the Port-Joinville hall was under renovation, was kept as a second municipal function room. Island associations use its rooms, and the local radio Neptune FM has broadcast from here since 1992.

The fort stands near Port-Joinville on the Île d'Yeu, a short distance from the village centre. Its courtyard holds a circus tent installed in 2005 and kept as a second municipal hall after the Casino hall reopened, so the grounds are used for shows, weddings and other events. Visitors should expect a working community venue rather than a museum.

The fort takes its name from a large standing stone that once occupied the construction site before being removed to make room for the fortification. This prehistoric monument was a notable landscape feature until the military structure replaced it.