Paris seeks forgiveness from Polynesian residents for nuclear explosions
A report prepared by a French parliamentary committee, which has been unveiled, concluded that France must apologize to the residents of 'Polynesia' for the nuclear tests conducted by Paris in its atolls. This development increases pressure on the French authorities, who still refuse to respond to Algerian demands regarding the memory file.
The report, circulated on Tuesday, June 17, spoke of the 'necessity' for France to apologize to the residents of Polynesia, a group of islands located in the far southeast Pacific Ocean, still under French control, because the French nuclear tests, which spanned three decades from 1966 to 1996, caused serious health and environmental problems for the region's residents.
The report's authors stated that 'seeking forgiveness is not merely symbolic, nor is it a request for repentance,' emphasizing that 'this must be a sincere approach, and an essential step in the reconciliation process between French Polynesia and the state,' as written by the committee chairman, MP Didier Le Gac, and the rapporteur, MP Moerana Redon-Arbellot.
The report also noted that dealing with this part of French history in a 'calm' manner is a 'sober act,' and Parliament must 'make this gesture on behalf of the nation.'
The report also recommended establishing a committee of historians and researchers 'to conduct in-depth work focused on studying all archives related to France's nuclear testing policy in French Polynesia,' which aims to form 'the historical basis for shared memory,' noting that Paris had conducted at least 193 nuclear tests in Polynesia under the auspices of the Pacific Testing Center.
Algeria and Polynesia share a history of French crimes. Algeria, in turn, was subjected to no less than 17 nuclear explosions in the south of the country (Reggane and Wadi Namous) between 1960 and 1966. These tests enabled France to acquire nuclear weapons, but in return, they left the lands contaminated with nuclear radiation and chemical waste, causing many incurable diseases that affected residents and animals due to radioactive pollution.
The local social security agency in Polynesia estimated the cost of radiation-induced diseases at more than 1 billion euros and intends to pass a bill in this regard. Meanwhile, the issue of compensation for victims of the 30-year nuclear tests remains thorny, according to the French news agency, 'France Presse,' which indicated that local residents (Polynesians) are still awaiting official recognition of the diseases caused by the nuclear explosions.
While the French parliamentary report acknowledges the serious health and environmental consequences for Polynesia and proposes a series of recommendations regarding victim care and compensation, and the recognition and remediation of environmental damage, Paris insists on not recognizing its responsibility for the tests it conducted in southern Algeria and even refuses to compensate victims based on what it called the 'Morin Law,' enacted in 2010, which has not been activated until now due to the bureaucratic and scientific obstacles set by this law, preventing Algerian victims from receiving compensation, so that not a single Algerian victim has been compensated to date, 15 full years after the issuance of this law.
The issue of French nuclear explosions in southern Algeria is among the files that have contributed to the exacerbation of relations between Algeria and Paris, because French President Emmanuel Macron has not made any progress in this regard, despite its obvious dangers, while he has spoken of symbolic initiatives such as seeking forgiveness from the family of the activist who supported the Algerian revolution, Maurice Audin, and recognizing the French state's responsibility in the heinous assassination of Larbi Ben M'hidi and Ali Boumendjel.
The French parliamentary initiative regarding nuclear explosions in the far southeast Pacific Ocean could bring the file of nuclear tests in southern Algeria back to the forefront, because Paris insists on a policy of moving forward. It still refuses to clean the areas where the explosions were carried out of radiation and nuclear waste, and also refuses to compensate Algerian victims of these explosions, despite the existence of a law that stipulates this.
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