Military radio station of Pierre-sur-Haute Facts for Kids

The military radio station of Pierre-sur-Haute. You can see two military towers, a Télédiffusion de France relay tower, living areas, and a helipad.

The Military radio station of Pierre-sur-Haute is a large area, about 30 hectares (74 acres), used by the French military for sending and receiving important messages. It's located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. A civilian radio relay, used by Télédiffusion de France, is also on the site.

In early 2013, this radio station became famous around the world. This happened after a French intelligence agency, called the Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI), reportedly tried to have the article about the station removed from the French Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, said no to this request in March 2013. After this, the DCRI reportedly forced a person who wrote for French Wikipedia to delete the article. This event was reported by news outlets all over the world. The deleted French Wikipedia article was quickly put back online because there were no good reasons to remove it, according to Wikipedia's rules. Since then, the article has been translated into many other languages.

A Look at History
- Early Beginnings
- NATO and the French Air Force
Why This Station is Important
Images for kids
See also

A Look at History

Early Beginnings

Back in 1913, a semaphore telegraph was built exactly where the military radio station stands today. A semaphore telegraph was a system that used signals, like moving arms on a tower, to send messages over long distances. At that time, it was just a small stone building with the semaphore on top.

NATO and the French Air Force

In 1961, NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) asked the French army to make the site much bigger. From that point on, it became one of 82 NATO communication stations across Europe. This network was known as the ACE High system. The Pierre-sur-Haute station acted as a relay point, sending messages between the Lachens station to the south and the Mont-Août station to the north. It used powerful transmitters and many receivers.

In 1974, the French Air Force took control of the station. Later, in 1988, NATO started to slowly shut down the ACE High system.

Why This Station is Important

Ownership and Control

The French Air Force owns the Pierre-sur-Haute site. It is controlled from another location near Lyon, which is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.

Access and Security

The station has a heliport, meaning helicopters can land there. There's also a private road that starts at the Col du Béal. However, this road can't be used if there's more than 2 metres (6.6 foots) of heavy snow. Another way to reach the site is by using a hiking trail, which can be used by special tracked vehicles.

Because this site is very important for the French army, it has been made "hardened." This means it's built to be very strong. It has its own power supply and can withstand an attack, making it very secure.

What Happens There

Around twenty people work at the site. Their main job is to analyze and relay signals. This means they receive information, understand it, and then send it on to other places.