France Joins Nuclear Club: Gerboise Bleue Detonates

A fireball rose over the Algerian Sahara at 7:04 AM on February 13, 1960, and France became the fourth nation to detonate a nuclear weapon. Gerboise Bleue — Blue Jerboa, named after a desert rodent — exploded with a yield of 70 kilotons, more than three times the power of the Hiroshima bomb and the largest first test by any nuclear power. Charles de Gaulle had his bomb, and France had announced itself as a global force that answered to no one. France’s nuclear program began in 1954, driven by twin humiliations: the loss of Indochina at Dien Bien Phu and the Suez Crisis of 1956, where American and Soviet pressure forced France and Britain to withdraw from Egypt. De Gaulle, who returned to power in 1958, was determined that France would never again depend on allies for its security. The bomb was the centerpiece of his force de frappe — an independent nuclear deterrent that would give France a permanent seat at any table where the world’s fate was discussed. The test site at Reggane, deep in the Sahara, was chosen for its remoteness, but it was not uninhabited. Nomadic Tuareg communities lived in the region, and Algerian workers were employed at the base. French authorities evacuated some nearby populations but the radius was insufficient. Subsequent investigations found elevated rates of cancer and genetic abnormalities among those exposed to fallout from this and the three atmospheric tests that followed. The international reaction was overwhelmingly negative. African nations condemned France for testing nuclear weapons on their continent. The Soviet Union and United States, despite their own massive arsenals, denounced the test. Japan protested formally. De Gaulle was unmoved, declaring that France was now "stronger and prouder." France conducted a total of 210 nuclear tests over the next 36 years, developing a complete nuclear triad, and remains one of five recognized nuclear weapons states — a status purchased in the Algerian desert on a February morning.