Storming of the Bastille of gunpowder to the Bastille for safer storage. At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty, housing only seven prisoners: four forgers, two "lunatics" and one "deviant" aristocrat, the Comte de Solages (the Marquis de Sade had been transferred out ten days earlier). The high cost of maintaining a garrisoned medieval fortress, for what was seen as having a limited purpose, had led to a decision being made shortly before the disturbances began to replace it with an open public space. Amid the tensions of July 1789, the building remained as a symbol of royal tyranny. The regular garrison consisted
Landmarks in Paris Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy and the restaurant Le Train Bleu. Opéra Bastille, the main facility of the Paris National Opera, was inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's ""Grands Travaux"". Designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott, it is located at the Place de la Bastille and houses a 2,700-seat theatre as well as smaller concert hall and a studio. The 13th lies in the south-eastern part of Paris. It contains the neighbourhoods of Chinatown, Floral City, Butte-aux-Cailles, and the Italie 2 shopping centre with some 130 stores. Institutions such as the Bibliothèque nationale de France and École Estienne