SGS researcher Sébastien Philippe testified before the French National Assembly about his work on the legacy and impact of French nuclear testing in the Pacific. The hearing was in large part a response to the award-winning investigation by Philippe and investigative journalist Tomas Statius published as Toxique, and the website The Moruroa Files, and a peer-reviewed article. This work challenged the official French narrative of the human and environmental consequences of French nuclear tests in the South Pacific in the 1960s.
One impact of the work by Philippe and Statius was a new parliamentary commission created in April 2024 by the French National Assembly to investigate “French nuclear experimentation policy, the consequences of the installation and operations of the Centre d’Expérimentation du Pacific (CEP, Pacific nuclear testing center) in French Polynesia, the recognition, management, and compensation of victims of French nuclear tests, and the recognition and reparation of environmental damage.”
Philippe and Statius testified under oath to the Commission on May 28 (video, report). The discussion covered the key findings of Toxique and areas of disagreement with the analysis by the French Atomic Energy Commission. The transcripts from the hearings have been archived in the official records of the French National Assembly.
The commission had aimed to conclude its work in October 2024 with a final report, potentially recommending new legislation or amendments to improve victim compensation. However, on June 9, 2024, President Macron called for snap parliamentary elections, abruptly ending the commission’s work along with all other parliamentary processes. Mareana Reid d’Erbelot, the commission’s rapporteur, announced her intention to re-establish the commission in the following legislature. This is expected in June 2025.