France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) has invested tens of thousands of euros to counter findings suggesting that the country has consistently downplayed the severe impacts of its nuclear testing in French Polynesia during the 1960s and 1970s. This comes as a parliamentary inquiry is set to release its report on the tests, which have been widely criticized in recent years.
According to documents obtained by the investigative outlet Disclose, which were also reviewed by prominent publications such as Le Monde and the Guardian, the CEA executed a strategic campaign to undermine emerging research about the detrimental effects of the nuclear tests. Notably, a 2021 book titled “Toxique” illustrated the heinous realities of the 193 nuclear tests conducted by France from 1966 to 1996 at the Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls. This work revealed that far more individuals were exposed to harmful radiation than the official accounts suggested.
In response to this scrutiny, a year after the publication of “Toxique,” the CEA distributed a 5,000-copy booklet titled “Nuclear tests in French Polynesia: why, how and with what consequences?” at a cost exceeding €90,000 (approximately $102,000). This initiative included sending a four-member team to French Polynesia to engage with local leaders and media outlets. The CEA’s booklet claimed to offer “scientific responses” to the allegations made in “Toxique,” arguing that contamination was limited and asserting that France acted transparently and respectfully toward the health of local residents.
The 2021 publication of “Toxique,” which relied on 2,000 pages of declassified documents and numerous interviews, sparked significant public outcry. It led to visits from high-ranking officials, including President Emmanuel Macron, who acknowledged France’s “debt” to the affected region. Findings from the book indicated that in a single 1974 test, as many as 110,000 people could have been exposed to radiation levels qualifying them for compensation should they later develop certain cancers.
Despite these findings, the CEA has historically underestimated these radiation levels, a stance that has limited the legitimacy of compensation claims. By 2023, less than half of the 2,846 claims submitted had even been deemed admissible for consideration.
As tensions rise around this critical issue, a parliamentary inquiry has called upon more than 40 politicians, scientists, and victims to investigate the implications of the nuclear tests—especially whether France had intentionally concealed the extent of contamination. Although the CEA’s military division, CEA/DAM, has denied these allegations, France’s nuclear safety body, the ASNR, has acknowledged uncertainties regarding the CEA’s calculations and affirmed the difficulty of demonstrating that individuals received radiation doses below the compensation threshold.
In a statement regarding their motivations for publishing the booklet, the CEA emphasized their aim to inform Polynesians about the tests and their impacts. Vincenzo Salvetti, a former head of CEA/DAM, claimed the publication was not meant as an official rebuttal to “Toxique,” but rather a means to make the CEA’s scientific reasoning more accessible.
However, the Parliamentary inquiry has pointed out the CEA/DAM only declassified 380 documents in four years since Macron demanded greater transparency regarding the tests, contrasting sharply with the 173,000 documents declassified by the military.
The inquiry’s upcoming report promises to illuminate the societal, economic, and environmental ramifications of the nuclear tests, and whether France made a concerted effort to cover up the extent of the contamination. This situation exemplifies a broader regional struggle for acknowledgment and justice regarding the legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific, a battle echoed in the experiences of survivors and activists like those from Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, who have also been impacted by historical nuclear activities and are calling for reparations and recognition.
The inquiry’s findings may help pave the way for meaningful dialogue about nuclear justice and victims’ rights in the region—a hopeful step toward accountability and healing for those affected by these historical injustices.
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