French Senate adopts bill recognizing victims of nuclear tests

France’s Senate unanimously adopted a bill Thursday formally recognizing victims of French nuclear tests in French Polynesia and improving access to compensation for those exposed to radiation during decades of testing.

The proposed legislation would recognize as victims those who lived in French Polynesia during the nuclear testing period and later developed one of 23 recognized forms of cancer.

It would also allow victims’ heirs to seek compensation and require France to cover related medical expenses.

The legislation was adopted during a public session in the Senate.

France conducted 193 nuclear tests in French Polynesia between 1966 and 1996, including 46 atmospheric tests that released significant radioactivity into the atmosphere.

Radioactive clouds from the tests contaminated several islands, fueling decades of criticism from local communities and anti-nuclear activists about the long-term health and environmental consequences.

France adopted the Morin Law in 2010, allowing compensation claims from cancer patients who lived in areas affected by the tests, though critics have long argued that the process remained restrictive and difficult for many applicants.