The Séré de Rivières system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers, ridges and coasts of France.

The fortifications were named after their architect, Brigadier-General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières.

Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, France found itself seriously weakened and isolated from the rest of Europe, menaced by Germany and stung by the loss of Alsace-Lorraine.

The committee was created by a presidential decree on 28 July 1872, with nine members from the Ministry of War and representatives from artillery and military engineering.

Séré de Rivières was re-elected head of the committee several times, with all powers necessary to realize his ideas without opposition.

A feature of the new system involved the construction of two defensive curtains, an outer line of forts, backed by an inner ring or line of forts d’arrêt at vital points of terrain or junctions, along with a great number of coastal batteries.

Examples of the first sort may be found at Verdun, Toul, Épinal, Belfort in the north-east as well as Paris and Brest.

In 1875, the Mougin system of laminated armour, using rolled iron, was first used in casemates to provide protection against field guns.

Non-retractable or non-eclipsing turrets could avoid direct-fire damage to their gun embrasures only by facing away from the direction of fire.

The Séré de Rivières system involved fortified towns and defensive screens.

The towns were intended to furnish locations for eventual counter-attack, while the defensive curtain prevented passage by an attacker.

A typical defended point consisted of a circle of forts around a town about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the centre.

Stop forts were intended to be autonomous, capable of functioning if isolated from the rest of the system and assure their own defence.

Screening forts were intended to lend mutual support to others of their kind and generally defended on one front.

Powder magazines were buried for protection from artillery, located behind triple-locked double doors and illuminated indirectly from lamp rooms to prevent accidental explosion.