The value of the « pré carré », i.e. the fortified system designed by Vauban aroused some criticism in the second half of the xviiith century. This system of defense allowed all the same to limit the 1793-1794 invasion. The two treaties of Paris (1814-1815) contributed to the dismantling of the defensive system on the northern border. With the development of the industrial revolution, a number of fortified places found themselves set in the urban network. After the 1870 defeat of France and the treaty of Frankfurt (May 1871), a moment of reflexion opened for the French government who had to redefine the fortified system that was to ensure the safety of the territory. While already in Belgium, thanks to the King, wisely counseled by Brialmont, the system of defense was modernized, in France, the system to which General Séré de Rivière attached his name is implemented. Yet, as early as 1885, the results of experiments led with fracturing explosive shells prove the vulnerability of the « Séré de Rivière forts ». The budget compromises imposed to the successive Ministers of the War allowed only a partial renovation of the North and North-East places.