President Tebboune Demands Full Resolution of France’s Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Legacy in Algeria

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Algiers, Algeria | February 3rd, 2025 — Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has issued a strong call for France to take full responsibility for the catastrophic consequences of its nuclear and chemical weapons tests in Algeria, emphasizing that a definitive resolution of this historical injustice is imperative for any meaningful revival of bilateral cooperation.

In a landmark interview with the French daily L’Opinion, Tebboune underscored that the issue of nuclear test site decontamination is not only a political and diplomatic matter but a moral, humanitarian, and military obligation. He insisted that France must provide precise details regarding the locations of its nuclear tests and the burial sites of hazardous radioactive materials.

A Demand for Transparency and Accountability

“The decontamination of nuclear test sites is non-negotiable. It is an imperative on all levels—humanitarian, ethical, political, and military. If such matters have been addressed with the Americans, Russians, Indonesians, and Chinese, then Algeria must demand the same from France,” declared Tebboune.

The Algerian head of state emphasized that France must fully disclose the geographical perimeters of its nuclear test zones in the Sahara, where it conducted 17 large-scale nuclear explosions between 1960 and 1966, with devastating long-term effects on local populations and the environment. The president further insisted that France must provide precise information on where radioactive waste was buried, as contamination continues to pose severe health and ecological risks decades later.

The Lingering Scars of Chemical Weapons Testing

In addition to nuclear tests, Tebboune raised the equally pressing issue of France’s chemical weapons experiments in Oued Namous, a remote area in southwestern Algeria where highly toxic substances were tested.

He recalled his early career in Béchar in the 1970s, when shepherds regularly reported unexplained deaths of livestock, strongly suggesting ongoing environmental contamination from France’s chemical warfare experiments. “We cannot simply sweep this under the rug. These matters must be settled once and for all,” he asserted.

A Precondition for Future Algerian-French Relations

Tebboune’s firm stance signals that Algeria will not turn the page on its colonial past until France takes full responsibility for the devastating consequences of its nuclear and chemical warfare activities. The demand for decontamination, compensation, and historical accountability is now a prerequisite for any deepened Algerian-French cooperation moving forward.

With this renewed pressure on Paris, Algeria is asserting its sovereign right to justice, standing firm in its insistence that France must acknowledge, compensate, and actively contribute to the cleanup of the toxic legacy left behind by its colonial military experiments.

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