A detail about Atar military cemetery in Mauritania, a film set

The French military cemetery of Atar was established during the period of pacification (1908-35) of the Sahara (a vast territory contained between southern Algeria, the western edge of Senegal, Niger and Chad). The cemetery is five hours’ drive from Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.

It contains the bodies of servicemen and members of their families who died during their time with the garrison: 285 graves, including those of 44 French soldiers and 162 Senegalese tirailleurs.

It has become a place of contemplation, which the French authorities (political or military) request to visit when they stop at Atar.

The site has been made famous by its wooden gateway, which belonged to the fort built for the production of the film “Fort Saganne”; the fort itself is no longer standing, but some ruins can still be seen.

The film, by Alain Corneau, was released in 1984, starring Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve and Sophie Marceau. It was based on the novel by the same name by Louis Gardel, grandson of Victor Marie Gabriel Gardel, who, with just 45 men, succeeded in driving back 350 Touaregs during the fighting in Esseyen (near Ghat, Libya).

Atar was chosen because of its magnificent rocky setting reminiscent of the Libyan desert.