French nuclear tests in Algeria 1960-1966

Abstract

This study aims to identify the subject of nuclear tests conducted by France in the Algerian desert for the period between 1960 -1966 ، and to know the importance  of the Algerian desert from an economic ، geographical and military perspective for France and the subject of French preparations to conduct the first French nuclear test in 1960 and the position of the Algerian government on the French nuclear explosions ، especially after Algeria ، s independence in 1962 ، and the conclusion of the Evian Accords with a study of the international position on the French nuclear tests in the Algerian desert.

The study revealed that France is one of the leading countries in the field of nuclear energy, and has worked hard to possess nuclear weapons. There are several reasons that prompted it to produce French nuclear weapons, the most prominent of which are the defeat of the French army in Indochina in 1954, the Suez Canal crisis, and the Soviet Union’s threat to the countries that attacked Egypt, especially France, to use nuclear weapons if the armies that attacked Egypt did not withdraw their armies. France did not use its national territory to conduct its nuclear tests, but rather chose the Algerian desert, inhabited by humans and animals, to conduct its nuclear tests, despite its awareness of the dangers of nuclear radiation to humans and their environment.