Gerboise Verte
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Gerboise Verte
''Gerboise Verte'' (; ) is the codename for a French nuclear test conducted on 25 April 1961. The test took place at the ''Centre Saharien d'Expérimentations Militaires'' (CSEM), 50 km south of Reggane, Algeria, then a French department and was designed as an atmospheric test. This was the fourth French nuclear atmospheric test, after '' Gerboise Bleue'', '' Gerboise Blanche'', and ''Gerboise Rouge''. History In 1957, the French government decided to create experimental nuclear testing facilities in the Sahara. To this end, 108,000 square kilometers of land were allocated to the French Ministry of Defense for the first French nuclear experiments. The (CSEM) for atmospheric testing was set up in Hamoudia some 50 km south of Reggane, an oasis in the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, 700 km from Colomb Béchar. The (CEMO) was later built in the Hoggar Mountains, near In Ekker, 150 km north of Tamanrasset, to carry out underground nuclear tests. Between ...
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Reggane Series, French Nuclear Tests
The Reggane series was a group of 4 Nuclear weapons testing#Types, atmospheric A-bomb nuclear test, nuclear tests conducted by France between February 1960 and April 1961, close to the end of the Algerian War. The bombs were detonated at the Saharan Military Experiments Centre near Reggane, French Algeria in the Sahara desert region of Tanezrouft, by the Nuclear Experiments Operational Group (GOEN), a unit of the Joint Special Weapons Command. The series saw the explosion of the first Nuclear weapons and France, French nuclear weapon and was followed by the In Ekker series, French nuclear tests, In Ekker series. The French authorities claimed that the tests took place in an uninhabited area, but at least 27,000 people living in the vicinity were negatively impacted. The radioactive fallout caused elevated levels of skin cancer, birth defects, organ cancers and blindness among the local population. Codenames All four operations were named after the jerboa (''Gerboise''), a dese ...
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Tamanrasset
Tamanrasset (; ), also known as Tamanghasset or Tamenghest, is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located at an altitude of . As of the 2008 census, it has a population of 92,635, up from 72,741 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.5%. up to 116,521 in 2019. Tamanrasset was originally established as a military outpost to guard the trans-Saharan trade routes. Surrounded by the barren Sahara, very high temperatures of over have been recorded here. Tamanrasset is located at an oasis where citrus fruits, apricots, dates, almonds, cereals, corn, and figs are grown, despite the difficult climate. The Tuareg people were once the town's main inhabitants. Tamanrasset is a tourist attraction during the cooler months. Visitors are also drawn to the Museum of the Hoggar, which offers many exhibits depicting Tuareg life and culture. The city is served by Tamanrasset Airport ...
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Plutonium
Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen, silicon, and hydrogen. When exposed to moist air, it forms oxides and hydrides that can expand the sample up to 70% in volume, which in turn flake off as a powder that is pyrophoric. It is radioactive and can accumulate in bones, which makes the handling of plutonium dangerous. Plutonium was first synthesized and isolated in late 1940 and early 1941, by deuteron bombardment of uranium-238 in the cyclotron at the University of California, Berkeley. First, neptunium-238 (half-life 2.1 days) was synthesized, which then beta-decayed to form the new element with atomic number 94 and atomic weight 238 (half-life 88 years). Since uranium had been named after the planet Uranus ...
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Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobile, it has an air-cooled engine that is front-engine, mounted in the front and front-wheel drive, drives the front wheels. Conceived by Citroën Vice-President Pierre-Jules Boulanger, Pierre Boulanger to help motorise the large number of farmers still using horses and carts in 1930s France, the 2CV has a combination of innovative engineering and straightforward, utilitarian bodywork. The 2CV featured overall low cost of ownership, simplicity of maintenance, an easily serviced air-cooled engine (originally offering ), and minimal fuel consumption. In addition, it had been designed to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs on the passenger's seat without breaking them, because of the great lack of paved roads in France at ...
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Le Parisien
''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ... and its suburbs. Since 2015, ''Le Parisien'' has been owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH, belonging to French billionaire Bernard Arnault. History and profile The paper was established as ''Le Parisien libéré'' (; ) by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and was published for the first time on 22 August 1944. The paper was originally launched as the organ of the French underground during the German occupation of France in World War II. The name was changed to the current one in 1986. A national edition exists, called ''Aujourd'hui en France'' (; ). LVMH acquired the paper from É ...
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Libération (journal)
(), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of France's political spectrum, the editorial line evolved towards a more centre-left stance at the end of the 1970s, where it remains as of 2012. The publication describes its "DNA" as being "liberal libertarian". It aims to act as a common platform for the diverse tendencies within the French Left, with its "compass" being "the defence of freedoms and of minorities". Edouard de Rothschild's acquisition of a 37% capital interest in 2005, and editor Serge July's campaign for the "yes" vote in the referendum establishing a Constitution for Europe the same year, alienated it from a number of its left-wing readers. In its early days, it was noted for its irreverent and humorous style and unorthodox journalistic culture. All employees, including management, receiv ...
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Jean-Dominique Merchet
Jean-Dominique Merchet (born 26 October 1959 in Besançon) is a French journalist working for the daily newspaper '' L'Opinion'', of which he is the diplomatic and defense correspondent. He specializes in strategy, defense and military issues and often appears on radio and TV shows, notably ''C'est dans L'air'' on '' TV5'', as a commentator. Biography Merchet started his journalistic career as a columnist for the monthly Le Monde Diplomatique. In the 90s he joined the daily ''Libération'', where he wrote on defense topics. Since July 2007, he has been publishing a professional blog, ''Secret Défense''. He left ''Libération'' after the summer of 2010 to join the weekly ''Marianne'' where he held the position of deputy editor responsible for international affairs. In July 2013 he joined the newly established ''L'Opinion'' as a correspondent for diplomatic and defense issues. He is an alumnus of the Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (49th session). Merchet not ...
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Bruno Barrillot
Bruno Barrillot (9 April 1940 — 25 March 2017) was a French whistleblower and anti-nuclear activist, specialized in monitoring nuclear weapons and nuclear power. He wrote several works on the consequences of nuclear testing in the Algerian Sahara and French Polynesia. He was co-founder of the Armaments Observatory in 1984. He was also co-founder of AVEN (Association of Nuclear Test Veterans) on 9 June 2001. Biography Barrillot was born in Lyon in France. He studied philosophy and theology at the Catholic University of Lyon, before becoming a Catholic priest and chaplain of the rural Christian youth movement in the diocese of Lyon from 1972 to 1985. In 1979 he and another priest, Léon Desbos, were prosecuted for the return of their military records in order to support a conscientious objector on trial and the local people in the Fight for the Larzac. They were sentenced to a suspended fine of 500 francs. He broke with the French Catholic Church in the mid-1980s, believing that its ...
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Dust Storm
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transported by saltation and suspension, a process that moves soil from one place and deposits it in another. These storms can reduce visibility, disrupt transportation, and pose serious health risks. Over time, repeated dust storms can reduce agricultural productivity and contribute to desertification. The arid regions of North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and China are the main terrestrial sources of airborne dust. It has been argued that poor management of Earth's drylands, such as neglecting the fallow system, are increasing the size and frequency of dust storms from desert margins and changing both the local and global climate, as well as impacting local economies. The term ''sandstorm'' is used most often in the context of d ...
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Yves Rocard
Yves-André Rocard (; 22 May 1903 – 16 March 1992) was a French physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb for France. Lifes Rocard was born in Vannes. After obtaining a double doctorate in mathematics (1927) and physics (1928) he was awarded a professorship in electronic physics at the École normale supérieure in Paris. As a member of a Resistance group during the Second World War he flew to the UK in a small plane as part of a dangerous mission and was able to provide British intelligence with invaluable information. There he met up with Charles de Gaulle who named him Director of Research in the Forces navales françaises libres (the Navy of Free France). He became particularly interested in the detection of solar radio emissions by British Radar, which were causing military problems by jamming detection during periods of high emission, and was able to create a new radio navigational beam station. As research director, Rocard followed the French troops entering Ge ...
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Libération
(), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of France's political spectrum, the editorial line evolved towards a more centre-left stance at the end of the 1970s, where it remains as of 2012. The publication describes its "DNA" as being "liberal libertarian". It aims to act as a common platform for the diverse tendencies within the French Left, with its "compass" being "the defence of freedoms and of minorities". Edouard Etienne de Rothschild, Edouard de Rothschild's acquisition of a 37% capital interest in 2005, and editor Serge July's campaign for the "yes" vote in the 2005 French European Constitution referendum, referendum establishing a Constitution for Europe the same year, alienated it from a number of its left-wing readers. In its early days, it was noted for its irreverent and h ...
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International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 as an autonomous international organization; though governed by its own founding treaty, the IAEA Statute, the organization reports to both the United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council, Security Council of the United Nations, and is headquartered at the United Nations Office at Vienna, UN Office at Vienna, Austria. The IAEA was created in response to growing international concern toward nuclear weapons, especially Cold War (1953–1962), amid rising tensions between the foremost nuclear powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace, Atoms for Peace" speech, which called for the creation of an international organiza ...
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