In planning since the 1920s and under the protest of locals, the dam was constructed between 1948 and 1952 with the purpose of hydroelectric power.

The dam was designed by Coyne & Bellier and is currently owned and operated by Électricité de France.

[3] Lac du Chevril flooded the town of Tignes which was relocated nearby.

In 1989, in preparation for the 1992 Winter Olympics, Jean-Marie Pierret painted a fresco of the Olympian figure Hercules on the dam's face.

[4] The dam plays an important part in the French supernatural drama television series The Returned.