 It became primarily a place to lock up military prisoners, Corsican rebels, and, during the French Revolution, first royalists and then supporters of the Republic.In 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet of 200 ships departed Toulon for Egypt, the future Empress Josephine watched the departure of the fleet from the Tour Royale.During the Franco-German War of 1870, the gold reserves of France were secretly stored inside the fort.