More than 50 years after testing nuclear weapons in Polynesia, the French government has finally come clean regarding its harmful effects on the local population’s health.
It’s taken a few decades, but the French Parliament has finally acknowledged, on the 23th of May, the health consequences of nuclear testing that took place in Polynesia between 1966 and 1996. The admission has come in a new bill reforming the status of the archipelago in the South Pacific, which has included recognition that the bombs caused damage to the health of local populations.
The issue had been at the centre of a lawsuit brought against France in 2018 by the former president of Polynesia, independentist Oscar Temaru, accusing the European country of crimes against humanity. The leader of the island nation spoke of “nuclear colonialism” and highlighted the gravity of the effects of testing in the Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls.
Over the thirty years of atomic experimentation, France exploded 181 devices in the archipelago, 46 of which were atmospheric blasts. Nuclear warheads sixty times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb dropped on the 6th of August 1945 were tested in 1968: over 1,000 kilotons, compared to the 15 of the device deployed in Japan.
It wasn’t until 1998 that France signed and ratified a treaty imposing a total ban on nuclear testing in Polynesia. It also requested that the International Agency for Atomic Energy perform a radiological survey establishing radioactivity levels on Mururoa and Fangataufa. Now, the text of the new bill indicates that the French state “is committed to accompanying the economic and structural redevelopment of Polynesia”.
The recent bill was approved unanimously by the French Senate. In the National Assembly, on the other hand, a single representative voted against the reform. The parliamentarian in question was Moetai Brotherson, a member of the Polynesian communist party, who claimed that the new legislation “won’t improve the fortunes of victims of the nuclear testing”. Furthermore, Brotherson claimed that the text “has no normative or juridical clout”.
According to reporting from French newspaper Le Monde, Brotherson has also highlighted how recently ten out of the twelve requests for compensation presented were rejected by the court in Papeete. This is because of a recently introduced amendment to financial legislation, which “reintroduced the notion of negligible risk” to French regulation. This is a term that had been eliminated in 2017 precisely because it didn’t allow people suffering from illnesses to receive compensation.
In a similar fashion, Danièle Obono of the La France Insoumise party has emphasised that the text “makes sense only if it will bring about a series of concrete measures for reparation”. The representative has also reported that “the number of congenital malformations (birth defects, ed.) quintupled over 25 years”.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
South African court dismisses a major lawsuit by 140,000 Zambian women and children against Anglo American for Kabwe lead poisoning. A setback for affected communities enduring the lasting impact of lead contamination.
Controversial African land deals by Blue Carbon face skepticism regarding their environmental impact and doubts about the company’s track record, raising concerns about potential divergence from authentic environmental initiatives.
Majuli, the world’s largest river island in Assam State of India is quickly disappearing into the Brahmaputra river due to soil erosion.
Food imported into the EU aren’t subject to the same production standards as European food. The introduction of mirror clauses would ensure reciprocity while also encouraging the agroecological transition.
Sikkim is a hilly State in north-east India. Surrounded by villages that attracts outsiders thanks to its soothing calmness and natural beauty.
Sikkim, one of the smallest states in India has made it mandatory for new mothers to plant saplings and protect them like their children to save environment
Chilekwa Mumba is a Zambian is an environmental activist and community organizer. He is known for having organized a successful lawsuit against UK-based mining companies.
What led to the Fukushima water release, and what are the impacts of one of the most controversial decisions of the post-nuclear disaster clean-up effort?
Nzambi Matee is a Kenyan engineer who produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste with the aim of addressing plastic pollution and affordable housing.
