Fort St Jean is one of two forts on opposite sides of the entrance to the old port of Marseille which used to be one of the main ports for the navy of France in days gone by and was last used by the French army as a staging post for the French Foreign Legion. Originally its cannon were pointed toward the town as the people of Marseille had a bad habit of revolting against the government or so the story goes. Today it is a historic monument which guards the thousands of pleasure craft moored in the old port area.