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French report on the unfairness of France’s nuclear history in Algeria
The Stora Report addressed several scars from the Algerian War for Independence (1954–62), a bloody struggle for decolonization that met savage repression by French troops. One of these controversies stems from French use of the Algerian Sahara for nuclear weapons development.
France proved its bomb in the atmosphere above this desert, naming the inaugural blast , or Blue Jerboa, after the local rodent. Between 1960 and 1966, France detonated 17 nuclear devices in the Algerian Sahara: four atmospheric explosions during the Algerian War, and another 13 underground, most of these after Algerian Independence.
French nuclear ambitions became inextricable from the process of Algerian decolonization. The Saharan blasts drew international outrage, stalled ceasefire negotiations, and later threatened an uneasy peace across the Mediterranean.
French report grapples with nuclear fallout from Algerian War
General Jean Thiry, director of nuclear experiment centers, pressing a button to trigger the explosion of the third French atomic bomb at the Reggane test site in the Algerian Sahara. The test, called Gerboise rouge, took place on December 27, 1960. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
In January, the French historian Benjamin Stora filed a report commissioned by the French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at “reconciliation of memories between France and Algeria,” which France ruled as the jewel of its colonial empire for more than 130 years.
The Stora Report addressed several scars from the Algerian War for Independence (1954–62), a bloody struggle for decolonization that met savage repression by French troops. One of these controversies stems from French use of the Algerian Sahara for nuclear weapons development.
France-Algérie : quel travail de reconnaissance après le rapport Stora ? (2) humanite.fr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from humanite.fr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Algerians have called on France to acknowledge the crimes it committed in the Algerian war of 1954-1962. The French president Emmanuel Macron will take symbolic acts to appease memories of the war in a bid to reconcile the two countries, a statement from the Elysée palace said Wednesday.
But according to the statement, Macron will not honor a request for apology by Algerians. The announcement has not been well received in the North African nation. It comes as the long-awaited report on France’s role in the war was published by French historian Benjamin Stora. As an Algerian, I think that it is up to Algerian diplomacy to move forward and to denounce this position because France is considered one of the worst of colonialism. It has tortured and persecuted in particular by carrying out nuclear tests on the Algerian people. As Algerians, we must denounce this position, and France must recognize its crimes, murders, torture, and forced displacement of the Algerian people , Lahwij H