“For thirty years we were French guinea pigs,” says Inamoira Morgan-Cross. The young MP comes from French Polynesia, a group of islands in the South Pacific that includes Tahiti. White-sand beaches, palm trees, turquoise seas – these landscapes are often described as “paradise”. But behind the idyll lies a difficult legacy: for three decades the French military tested nuclear weapons on the atolls – coral islands – of Mururoa and Fangataufa.
The military detonated 193 atomic bombs in the French overseas territory, which its inhabitants call Ma'ohi Nui. The first explosion was recorded on May 2, 1966, under the code name "Aldebaran" - the brightest star in the constellation Taurus.
"They poisoned us"
Morgan-Kros is more than 15.000 kilometers away from her homeland. She is participating in a roundtable in Berlin, which brings together members of the NGO International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). She vividly described the devastating consequences of French nuclear experiments that are still felt today: an above-average number of people are getting cancer, children are being born with deformities. The water and soil are polluted.
"With their nuclear experiments, they have poisoned the ocean from which all our food comes," laments the politician and activist, who has already spoken at the United Nations. "They have poisoned us because of France's ambition to become a great power with nuclear weapons."
The fairy tale about the "clean bomb"
The French government of the time deliberately misled the islanders about the dangers. The French atomic bomb was “green and very clean,” claimed then-President Charles de Gaulle. This supposedly distinguished it from the atomic bomb from Hiroshima. Therefore, it was further claimed, the tests did not cause any harm. “French propaganda,” comments Morgan-Cross today.
In reality, radioactive clouds spread over large parts of the South Pacific, reaching as far as the main island of Tahiti, more than a thousand kilometers from the explosion site. Residents of nearby islands were often not informed, let alone evacuated.
No apologies.
Three decades passed before the government in Paris ended the experiments in 1996, following mass protests at home and abroad. It never officially apologized for the damage it had caused to its overseas territory. During a visit to French Polynesia in 2021, President Emmanuel Macron nevertheless admitted guilt: “The guilt lies in the fact that we carried out these experiments. We would not have carried them out in Crozes (an area in central France, ed.) or in Brittany.” That is why the United Nations and non-governmental organizations are once again reminding us of the responsibility of nuclear powers on September 26, the International Day for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons.
However, it seems that today the suffering of the victims of nuclear tests has been almost forgotten. This is increasingly being opposed by young people from the former atomic test areas, who do not want to accept the inaction of the perpetrators. They are founding initiatives and connecting across national borders.
Inamoira Morgan-Cross, a member of parliament in Tahiti's capital, Papeete, is one of them. During a visit to Berlin, she reported on the fate of her own family: her grandmother, who was 30 when the experiments began, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, as were her aunt and mother. She, born in 1988, and her sister also suffer from cancer.
Cancer can strike generations later
"The insidious thing about radioactive radiation is that it affects generations. This includes, among other things, a significantly increased risk of various types of cancer, especially lymph node cancer, but also leukemia," says nuclear weapons expert Jana Baldus from the non-governmental organization European Leadership Network (ELN).
A further consequence is reproductive disorders: "Especially in women who were exposed to radiation during nuclear tests, this led to deformities in children and spontaneous abortions," Baldus explains to DW. "However, this can also be passed down through generations, which can lead to infertility in women, among other things."
Morgan-Cross entered politics because of her family's fate. She is also asking France to provide better healthcare. "We deserve a better hospital, we deserve better healthcare." Only a few of those affected have the opportunity to travel to Paris for treatment.
Hard to get compensation
In 2010, the French government passed a law promising compensation to victims of nuclear tests. Each individual case is carefully examined. Those affected must prove that their illness was a result of the tests.
In practice, this is often difficult, says Baldus. “People have to prove that they were in the exact same place at the time of the tests, which is of course very difficult to prove after decades.” In addition, the list of illnesses that are accepted as grounds for compensation is relatively narrow. According to the NGO ICAN, a total of 417 residents of French Polynesia received compensation between 2010 and 2024.
Inamoira Morgan-Cross is not only interested in practical help, but also in education. In her homeland, the story is still prevalent that the tests were a good and “clean” thing that brought a certain prosperity to the inhabitants. “For decades, we had pictures of the mushroom cloud hanging in our living rooms because we were proud that the French had chosen us.” She set herself the goal of confronting this “colonial consciousness” and developing an understanding of the real consequences of the atomic experiments.
Will nuclear weapons be tested again in the future?
In addition to France, other countries also conducted extensive series of nuclear experiments, including the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain, and China. In total, there were more than 2.000 nuclear explosions. The radioactive fallout did not only settle in the areas of the explosions, but also led to measurably higher levels of radiation throughout the world.
Only moratoriums and negotiations on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty have stopped atomic explosions. Apart from North Korea, no country has activated nuclear weapons for experimental purposes in recent years. But in the current tense security situation, experts believe that such tests are possible.
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