Was there nuclear testing in French Polynesia?
More than 400 claims have been filed against the French government for nuclear tests on French Polynesia between 1966 and 1996. Scientists say about 110,000 people have been affected by radioactive fallout.
When did France do nuclear testing in the Pacific?
The French began a nuclear testing program in the Pacific in the 1960s and completed it in the 1990s. For more than forty years, the French government remained secretive about the testing, allowing researchers minimal or no access to either the data it collected or the atolls where the testing took place.
Why did France stop nuclear testing in the Pacific?
Riots took place across Polynesia, and the South Pacific Forum threatened to suspend France. These tests were meant to provide France with enough data to improve further nuclear technology without needing additional series of tests.
How many nuclear tests did the French do in the Pacific?
France conducted 193 nuclear tests from 1966 to 1996 at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls in French Polynesia, including 41 atmospheric tests until 1974 that exposed the local population, site workers and French soldiers to high levels of radiation.
Where did France test its nuclear bombs?
On 13 February 1960, France conducted its first nuclear test, code-named “Gerboise Bleue” (Blue Desert Rat). The day marked the beginning of a series of four atmospheric nuclear tests at the Reganne Oasis, in the Sahara Desert of Algeria.
When was the last French nuclear test?
27 January 1996
On 27 January 1996, the last nuclear test explosion by France was conducted at the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atoll test site in the South Pacific. The underground explosion was equivalent to 120,000 tonnes of conventional explosives, six times the force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
When did France stop nuclear testing?
1996
France stops nuclear test programme – archive, 1996.
Where did the French do nuclear testing in the Pacific?
French Polynesia
French Polynesia, a French territory made up of hundreds of islands and atolls including Tahiti, was the site of dozens of nuclear tests over 30 years.
Did France test nuclear weapons on Algerians?
France carried out 17 nuclear tests in Algeria between 1960 and 1966. Many took place after Algeria’s independence from France in 1962, under an agreement between the two countries.
Where did nuclear testing occur in the Pacific islands?
the Marshall Islands
In 1947, the Marshall Islands became part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, created by the United Nations and then administered by the U.S. In 1946, the islands had a population of 52,000. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands.
Where did France do their nuclear testing?
Where did France test nuclear bombs?
Where was the French nuclear test in the Pacific?
The French nuclear tests in the Pacific triggered global protests including this one held in Sydney in 1995. (Nine) A declassified chart showing radiactive zoning after a nuclear test in the Gambier Islands in 1970.
Why did New Zealand protest French nuclear testing?
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) played a significant role in sending a frigate to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific in 1973. It is a unique act in New Zealand political history. It showed how much the government had changed its views from participation in the 1950s with Operation Grapple to outright opposition.
Where was the first nuclear test in Tahiti?
Today in Tahiti, a memorial to nuclear test survivors can be found in Place 2 Juillet 1966, a name which commemorates this first test. Throughout thirty years of French nuclear testing in the Pacific, there were protests in Tahiti and across the region.
When was the last nuclear test in France?
The last of six tests on 27 January 1996 marked the end of all nuclear testing in the Pacific – but not the end of health and environmental impacts. For many years, French authorities denied claims of adverse effects from nuclear testing.