Batterie de la Convention

Batterie de la Convention stands at the eastern tip of Sainte-Marguerite Island, in the bay beside Cannes. Forest, sea, and the nearby Fort Royal surround this masonry military building. Its cubic form has symmetrical façades, terracotta-brick crenellations, and a flat, terraced roof. A ditch encloses the structure.

Spanish forces established an earlier square fort here during their occupation of the island until 1637. Revolutionary and Napoleonic conflicts later transformed that position into a coastal battery. The present guardhouse follows a 1846 design and was built in 1862. Its military role declined after the annexation of the County of Nice, leading to decommissioning in 1889.

German forces added two casemates with 75-millimetre cannons during the Second World War. Traditional materials and techniques preserve the interior’s historic character, including rooms linked by a central corridor. Historic-monument protection has covered the site since 1933. Terracotta machicolations still reveal how nineteenth-century builders combined masonry with defensive design.