France Joins Nuclear Club: Gerboise Bleue Detonates
France detonates its first atomic bomb under the code name Gerboise Bleue, joining the United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom as the world's fourth nuclear power. This achievement instantly elevates Paris to a position of global strategic leverage, compelling other nations to recalibrate their Cold War alliances around a new European nuclear player.
February 13, 1960
66 years ago
Key Figures & Places
France
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Nuclear test
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Gerboise Bleue
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Nuclear weapons testing
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Gerboise Bleue (nuclear test)
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Reggane
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Algeria
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Bomba atómica
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Algerian War
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Tanezrouft
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Französische Kernwaffentests in Algerien
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Algerische Sahara
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Sahara
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