Located in the municipality of Bormes-les-Mimosas in the Var department, the Fort de Brégançon stands on a rocky peak at an altitude of around 98 ft (30 m). A strategic site fortified from the 6th century and sheltered from the east wind, it allows the control of the harbors of Hyères and Toulon. A seigniorial residence of the Counts of Provence in the Middle Ages, the fort entered the domain of the crown of France in 1246 and kept a purely military character of coastal defense until the 20th century. Listed as a picturesque site in 1924 and then as a Historical Monument on September 25, 1968, it took on the status of presidential residence and became - under Georges Pompidou - a summer residence greatly appreciated by most of the presidents of the Fifth Republic.