18 Mar 2021

Renewed alarm over French nuclear weapons tests.in the Pacific

From , 6:02 am on 18 March 2021

There is renewed alarm in French Polynesia over the legacy of the French nuclear weapons tests.

Last week's release of a new study led to fresh accusations that the French authorities misled the public about the seriousness of the test fallout.

For the pro-independence opposition, Paris now needs to explain its testing regime to the United Nations.

Walter Zweifel followed the debate and I asked him what triggered the latest concerns.

A picture shows a general view of the hard-surfaced advanced recording base PEA "Denise" in the north zone of the Moruroa (Mururoa) atoll, southern Pacific ocean, where French forces have conducted 138 nuclear weapon tests until 1996, on February 13, 2014.

Photo: AFP