View source for Gerboise Bleue (nuclear test)

{{Short description|1960 weapons test in Reggane, French Algeria}}
{{for|the 2009 documentary film|Gerboise bleue (film)}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox nuclear weapons test
| name = ''Gerboise Bleue''
| image =
| image_size = 
| map_type            = Algeria
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = Location of the test site
| map_size            = 
| map_dot_label       = 
| map_dot_mark        = 
| relief              = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| country = {{flagicon|France|1794}} [[France]]
| test_series = [[Reggane series, French nuclear tests|Reggane series]]
| test_site = [[Reggane]], [[French Algeria]]
| coordinates = {{coord|26|18|42|N|00|03|26|W|region:DZ|display=inline}}
| date = {{Start date and age|1960|02|13|df=y}}
| test_type = [[Nuclear weapons testing#Types|Atmospheric]]
| test_altitude = 100 m
| device_type = [[A-bomb]]
| yield = 70 [[TNT equivalent|kt]] (292.88 TJ){{efn|Physician Pierre Billaud reported a yield of 60 kt. See External links.}}
| summary = 
| previous_test = 
| next_test = ''[[Gerboise Blanche (nuclear test)|Gerboise Blanche]]''
}}
'''''Gerboise Bleue''''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɛʁbwaz blø|lang}}; {{literally|Blue Jerboa}}) was the [[codename]] of the first [[Nuclear weapons and France|French nuclear test]]. It was conducted by the Nuclear Experiments Operational Group (GOEN), a unit of the Joint Special Weapons Command<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMtky-3hX6EC&pg=PA31|title=Nuclear Weapons Security Crises: What Does History Teach?|last1=Sokolski|first1=Henry D.|last2=Tertrais|first2=Bruno|page=31|publisher=Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press|date=2013|isbn=978-1-5848-7574-1}}</ref> on 13 February 1960, at the Saharan Military Experiments Centre near [[Reggane]], [[French Algeria]] in the [[Sahara]] desert region of the [[Tanezrouft]], during the [[Algerian War]].<ref name="senate">{{cite web|url=http://www.senat.fr/rap/o97-179/o97-1799.html|title=French Senate report #179: The first French tests in the Sahara|last=Senate of the French Republic|date=15 December 1997|website=senat.fr|language=fr|access-date=8 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA124|title=Historical Dictionary of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare|last=Garrett|first=Benjamin C.|page=124|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date=2017|isbn=978-1-5381-0684-6}}</ref> General [[Pierre Marie Gallois]] was instrumental in the endeavour, and earned the nickname of ''père de la bombe A'' ("father of the A-bomb").

== Name ==
''Gerboise'' is the French word for [[jerboa]], a desert [[rodent]] found in the Sahara. The color blue (''Bleue'') adjuncted is said to come from the first colour of the [[French Flag]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=on10DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT69|title=Global Nuclear Order|last=Kutchesfahani|first=Sara Z|publisher=Routledge|date=2018|isbn=978-1-3519-9962-5}}</ref>

== Test ==
=== Explosion ===
On April 11, 1958, French Prime Minister [[Félix Gaillard]] ordered a nuclear test in the first quarter of 1960. President [[Charles de Gaulle]] reaffirmed the decision after the [[French Fourth Republic]] collapsed in the [[May 1958 crisis in France|May 1958 crisis]].<ref>{{Citation|title=The Sprinters: Soviet Union, France, and China|date=2020-12-31|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691223063-006/html|work=Seeking the Bomb|pages=127–175|publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.1515/9780691223063-006|isbn=978-0-691-22306-3|s2cid=245890893 |access-date=2022-01-20|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Initial plans were proposed to detonate a nuclear bomb on French territory in the Argentella mine on the island of Corsica.  These plans were abandoned after widespread protests on the island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cooper: The Argentella scandal: why French officials did not make Corsica a nuclear test site in 1960 {{!}} 2023 {{!}} News {{!}} MIT Security Studies Program (SSP) |url=https://ssp.mit.edu/news/2023/cooper-the-argentella-scandal-why-french-officials-did-not-make-corsica-a-nuclear-test |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=ssp.mit.edu }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Austin R. |date=December 2022 |title=The Argentella scandal: why French officials did not make Corsica a nuclear test site in 1960 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10736700.2023.2187529 |journal=The Nonproliferation Review |volume=29 |issue=1-3 |pages=3–25 |doi=10.1080/10736700.2023.2187529 |issn=1073-6700|doi-access=free }}</ref>

On 13 February 1960 at 7:04:00 UTC,<ref>{{cite tech report|title=French Nuclear Testing, 1960-1988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yn8ZAQAAIAAJ&pg=25|publisher=Natural Defense Resources Council|page=25|date=1989|access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> the plutonium bomb was detonated on a steel tower 100 m tall. The command post was 16 kilometres away from the blast. In order to study the immediate effects, military equipment was placed at varying distances from the epicenter, while jets flew overhead to take samples of radioactive particles. No journalists were allowed on site; instead, an eyewitness account was given to the French press, saying "the desert was lit up by a vast flash, followed 45 seconds later by an appreciable shock-wave"; an "enormous ball of bluish fire with an orange-red centre" gave way to the typical [[mushroom cloud]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|date=February 1960|title=Nuclear Device exploded in the Sahara. - Afro-Asian Reactions. - Ghana freezes French Assets.- Moroccan Ambassador withdrawn from Paris|url=http://keesings.com/index_new.php|journal=Keesing's Record of World Events|volume=6|issue=2|pages=17279|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-04-08|archive-date=2018-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408220930/http://keesings.com/index_new.php}}</ref>

With ''Gerboise Bleue'', France became the fourth nuclear power, after the United States, the [[Soviet Union]], and the United Kingdom. Prior to this test, there had been no nuclear detonations for 15 months. ''Gerboise Bleue'' was by far the largest first test bomb up to that date, larger than the American "[[Trinity test|Trinity]]" (20 kt), the Soviet "[[Joe 1|RDS-1]]" (22 kt), or the British "[[Operation Hurricane|Hurricane]]" (25 kt). The yield was 70 kilotons,<ref name="a">{{cite tech report |url=http://www.obsarm.org/essais-nucleaires.pdf |title=Rapport sur les essais nucléaires français (1960-1996) |page=118 |access-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213172230/http://www.obsarm.org/essais-nucleaires.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 13, 2014 |publisher=Government of the French Republic}}</ref> bigger than these three bombs put together; In comparison, [[Fat Man]], the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Nagasaki bomb]], was 22 kilotons, one-third as powerful.

As the atomic yield of a new bomb design cannot be precisely predicted, the [[French army]] planned an explosion between 60 and 70 kt. ''Gerboise Bleue'' was a total success, yielding the full designed power.<ref name="senate207">[http://www.senat.fr/rap/r01-207/r01-2073.html French Senate report]</ref> However, because of the bomb's irregularly high yield, some experts believe that the bomb may have been "overfilled with plutonium to assure success".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The nuclear express : a political history of the bomb and its proliferation|last1=Reed|first1=Thomas|last2=Stillman|first2=Danny|publisher=Zenith Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7603-3502-4|pages=111}}</ref>

Only two other A-bombs tested in the Sahara facilities were more powerful: ''Rubis'' (<100 kt, 20 October 1963), and ''Saphir'' (<150 kt, 25 February 1965). Both were detonated underground at the [[In Ekker series, French nuclear tests|In Ekker]] facilities.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Warner D. Farr in a report to the [[USAF Counterproliferation Center]] "Progress in nuclear science and technology in France and Israel remained closely linked throughout the early fifties." Furthermore, according to Farr, "There were several Israeli observers at the French nuclear tests and the Israelis had 'unrestricted access to French nuclear test explosion data.'"<ref>{{citation|title = The Third Temple's holy of holies: Israel's nuclear weapons | first = Warner D | last = Farr | series = The Counterproliferation Papers, Future Warfare Series | volume = 2 | publisher = USAF Counterproliferation Center, Air War College, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base | url = https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/farr.htm |date=September 1999 | access-date = July 2, 2006}}</ref>

=== Fallout ===
Initial monitoring reported a radiation dose of 10 [[Rad (unit)|rad]]/h at 0.8&nbsp;km from ground zero one hour after the blast, 10 rad/h at 28.5&nbsp;km and 3 rad/h at 570&nbsp;km. Monitoring at Fort Lamy (now [[N'Djamena]]), around 2,400&nbsp;km from Reggane, reported 10<sup>−9</sup> [[Curie (unit)|Ci]]/m<sup>3</sup>.<ref name='a' />

For decades, documentation of the ''Gerboise'' tests remained heavily classified by the French government. The [[Ministry of the Armed Forces (France)|Ministry of the Armed Forces]] had maintained that the radioactive effects on humans present at the site would be "weak", and "well below annual doses."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/2010/02/16/essais-nucleaires-gerboise-verte-la-bombe-et-le-scoop-qui-font-plouf/|title=Essais nucléaires : Gerboise verte, la bombe et le scoop qui font plouf... (actualisé-3)|last=Merchet|first=Jean-Dominique|date=2010-02-16|work=Libération|access-date=2018-04-08|archive-date=2018-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121053302/http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/2010/02/16/essais-nucleaires-gerboise-verte-la-bombe-et-le-scoop-qui-font-plouf/|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, persons present at the site have since stated that protection gear was extremely minimal at the time of testing. In addition, ex-military officers have come forward with stories of being used as test subjects to study the effects of nuclear radiation on humans. Immediately following the explosion of ''Gerboise Verte'' (which yielded <1 kiloton), soldiers were sent within a 1&nbsp;km radius of the explosion site, where they practiced combat exercises and drove tanks around the area. In total, these subjects were exposed to high levels of radiation for three hours. Following the exercises, the soldiers state that they were given showers as the only means of decontamination.<ref name="scoop-qui-font-plouf" />

== Subsequent tests ==
{{main|List of nuclear weapons tests of France}}
After ''Gerboise Bleue'' in February 1960, France conducted until April 1961 three additional atmospheric tests in Reggane facility's Saharan Military Experiments Centre. They were only "emergency devices", with yields deliberately reduced to less than 5 kilotons.

Shortly after the final Gerboise bomb (''Gerboise Verte),'' the French moved their nuclear testing to the mountainous [[In Ekker series, French nuclear tests|In Ekker]] region, which housed an underground facility. In 1962, the [[Algerian War]] ended with the signing of the [[Évian Accords]]. Although the French military agreed to withdraw from Algeria within 12 months, Chapter III of the Évian Accords granted France "the use of a number of military airfields, the terrains, sites and installations necessary to her."<ref>{{Cite journal|date=October 1962|title=Algeria: France-Algeria independence agreements (Evian agreements)|jstor=20689578|journal=International Legal Materials|volume=1|issue=2|pages=214–230}}</ref> It was because of this stipulation that France was able to continue nuclear testing in Algeria until 1966.
With the underground tests the sequence designation was changed to jewel names, starting in November 1961 with ''[[Agate (nuclear test)|Agate]]'' (<20 kt). On 1 May 1962, during the second test, the [[Béryl incident|''Béryl'' incident]] occurred, which was declassified many years later.

Five months after the last ''Gerboise'' A-bomb, the Soviet Union responded by breaking its atmospheric tests moratorium, settled ''de facto'' since late 1958 with the United States and the United Kingdom. The USSR conducted many improvement tests, starting in September 1961 with a series of 136 large H-bombs. The series included the most powerful bomb ever tested, the 50-megaton (50,000 kt) "[[Tsar Bomba]]", which was detonated over [[Novaya Zemlya]].

Following the [[USSR]], the United States reactivated its own atmospheric test program with a series of 40 explosions from April 1962 to November 1962. This series included two powerful H-bombs topping 7.45 Mt and 8.3 Mt.<ref name="senate"/>

China also launched its own nuclear program, resulting in the A-bomb "[[596 (nuclear test)|596]]" (22 kt) tested on 16 October 1964, and the H-bomb [[Test No. 6]] (3.3 Mt), tested 17 June 1967.

In 1968, France detonated its first [[thermonuclear weapon]], ''[[Canopus operation|Canopus]]'' (2.6 Mt), at the new facility at [[Fangataufa]], a desert atoll in [[French Polynesia]].

All other French atomic-bomb tests, including [[Canopus (nuclear test)|Canopus]], were carried out in [[French Polynesia]] from 1966 to 1996. The last bomb, Xouthos (<120 kt), was detonated on 27 January 1996.

== International reactions ==
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-70653-0001, Leipzig, Studenten aus Mali.jpg|thumb|Students from Mali protesting in Leipzig against the French nuclear test]]

In France, the news of ''Gerboise Bleue''s success was generally met with satisfaction and national pride. President De Gaulle stated:{{cquote|''Hurray for France! Since this morning, she is stronger and prouder.<ref>''Hourra pour la France ! Depuis ce matin, elle est plus forte et plus fière.''</ref><ref>[http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2010/02/il-y-a-cinquante-ans-la-france-réalisait-son-premier-essai-nucléaire.html Il y a cinquante ans, la France réalisait son premier essai nucléaire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216062801/http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2010/02/il-y-a-cinquante-ans-la-france-r%C3%A9alisait-son-premier-essai-nucl%C3%A9aire.html |date=2010-02-16 }}, [[Jean-Dominique Merchet]], ''[[Libération]]'', 13 February 2010</ref>
}}

However, the nation faced many international critics following the nuclear test, especially from [[Africa]]. Just days after the test, all French assets in [[Ghana]] were frozen, "until such time as the effects of the present explosion and the future experiments referred to by the French Prime Minister become known."<ref name=":0" /> [[Morocco]], which lays claim to the portion of the Sahara where the bomb was detonated, withdrew its ambassador from Paris just two days after the event. Other African nations expressed their disappointment with France's decision to test nuclear weapons in the Sahara, citing fears of radioactive fallout and the safety of their citizens.

== Programme ==
[[File:French Senate - Report 207.gif|thumb|Synthesis of the aerial tests (<ref name=senate207/>)]]
*13 February 1960: ''Gerboise Bleue'' ("blue jerboa"): 70 kt
*1 April 1960: ''Gerboise Blanche'' ("white jerboa"): <5 kt
*27 December 1960: ''Gerboise Rouge'' ("red jerboa"): <5 kt
*25 April 1961: ''Gerboise Verte'' ("green jerboa"): <1 kt

''Gerboise Rouge'' was followed by a joint exercise, in which infantry, helicopters and armour reconnoitered the contaminated area.<ref name="scoop-qui-font-plouf" />

''Gerboise Verte'' was intended to yield between 6 and 18 kilotonnes, but effectively yielded less than 1.<ref name="scoop-qui-font-plouf">[http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2010/02/essais-nucléaires-gerboise-verte-la-bombe-et-le-scoop-qui-font-plouf.html Essais nucléaires : Gerboise verte, la bombe et le scoop qui font plouf... (actualisé)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129024411/http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2010/02/essais-nucl%C3%A9aires-gerboise-verte-la-bombe-et-le-scoop-qui-font-plouf.html |date=2014-11-29 }}, [[Jean-Dominique Merchet]], ''[[Libération]]''</ref> Like ''Gerboise Rouge'', it was followed by a joint exercise in the contaminated area, codenamed ''Garigliano''.<ref name="scoop-qui-font-plouf" /> The test had been patched up hastily and fired prematurely because of the [[Algiers putsch of 1961|Algiers putsch]], as it was feared that the nuclear bomb could fall in the hands of seditious elements.<ref>[http://hebdo.nouvelobs.com/hebdo/parution/p1735/dossier/a20107-sahara_les_cobayes_de_gerboise_verte.html Sahara: les cobayes de «Gerboise verte»], ''[[Le Nouvel Observateur]]'', Vincent Jauvert, 5 February 1998</ref> As a result, the bomb yielded less than 1 kiloton, 10 times less than the intended output.

== Later effects ==
After the tests, nuclear fallout was detected as far away as [[Senegal]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Sudan]].<ref name="BBC-Apr-2021">{{Cite news|title=France-Algeria relations: The lingering fallout from nuclear tests in the Sahara |date=26 April 2021 |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56799670 }}</ref>

In 2005, the Algerian government asked for a study to assess the radioactivity of former nuclear testing sites. The [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] published the report suggesting that ''Gerboise Bleue'' explosion site had the second highest [[caesium-137]] surface levels of the four tests of the series, with a residual surface activity between 0.02 and 2.0 MBq/m<sup>2</sup> over a surface area of about {{Cvt|1|km2|acre}}.<ref>{{cite tech report |url=http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1215_web_new.pdf |title=Radiological Conditions at the Former French Nuclear Test Sites in Algeria: Preliminary Assessment and Recommendations |date=1 March 2005 |page=9 |access-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315183604/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1215_web_new.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=2012-03-15 |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |location=Vienna, Austria}}</ref> The same report showed that the fallout of the bomb were contained in a circular area of less than 1&nbsp;km in diameter.<ref>{{cite tech report |url=http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1215_web_new.pdf |title=Radiological Conditions at the Former French Nuclear Test Sites in Algeria: Preliminary Assessment and Recommendations |date=1 March 2005 |page=10 |access-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315183604/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1215_web_new.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=2012-03-15 |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |location=Vienna, Austria}}</ref> It also stated that these levels were not enough to warrant intervention and did not pose a threat to visitors of the area or inhabitants of Reggane.

In 2009, the French government agreed to compensate victims who had been exposed to nuclear radiation as a result of the testing in Algeria and [[French Polynesia]]. The government also agreed to release additional documents which detailed how the tests had been carried out.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/world/europe/25france.html|title=France to Pay Nuclear Test Victims|last=Cowell|first=Alan|date=2009-03-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-04-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

According to the French NGO [[:fr:Association pour le contrôle de la radioactivité dans l'Ouest|ACRO]], [[Saharan dust]] blown northwards by strong seasonal winds to France in early 2021 carried inoffensive - though measurable - levels of radioactive caesium-137 attributable to the Gerboise tests.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cereceda |first1=Rafael |title=Irony as Saharan dust returns radiation from French nuclear tests in the 1960s |url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/03/01/irony-as-saharan-dust-returns-radiation-from-french-nuclear-tests-in-the-1960s |website=euronews |access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Agate (nuclear test)|Agate]]'' (French first underground A-bomb)
* ''[[Canopus (nuclear test)|Canopus]]'' (French first atmospheric H-bomb)
* ''[[Force de Frappe]]''
* [[List of nuclear weapons tests of France]]
* [[List of states with nuclear weapons]]
* [[Nuclear weapons and France]]
* [[History of nuclear weapons]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20240824061809/http://pbillaud.fr/html/nuc3.html Report of Pierre Billaud, physician present at the test] (fr)
* [http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/rap-oecst/essais_nucleaires/i3571.asp French Assembly report n°3571] (fr)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090426210828/http://www.bou-saada.net/reggane.htm Les premiers essais français au Sahara (1960–1966)] (fr)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070306020555/http://algerianistesmtp.free.fr/atome.htm The failed atomic destiny of the French Algeria] (fr)

{{Algerian War}}
{{Nuclear weapons tests of France}}

[[Category:French nuclear testing in Algeria]]
[[Category:1960 in France]]
[[Category:1960 in Algeria]]
[[Category:1960 in the Algerian War]]
[[Category:Algeria–France military relations]]
[[Category:1960 in science]]
[[Category:1960 in military history]]
[[Category:1960 in politics]]
[[Category:February 1960 in Africa]]
[[Category:Adrar Province]]
[[Category:Environmental racism]]