Les grands dossiers de l'Histoire par Franck Ferrand

De Gaulle et la bombe atomique : Quand les Américains ont tout fait pour empêcher la France d’avoir une force de frappe nucléaire

·21 min·2 clips

On February 13, 1960, France detonates its first atomic bomb, codenamed Blue Boat, in the Algerian Sahara.

The episode opens with the dramatic first French atomic test, 'Blue Boat,' in the Algerian Sahara on February 13, 1960. Franck Ferrand traces the origins of France's nuclear ambition back to 1945 with the creation of the CEA (Commissariat for Atomic Energy). In December 1954, Prime Minister Pierre Mendès France secretly authorized the nuclear weapons program with 600 million francs, a decision immediately detected by American intelligence. The US proposed a 'double-key' system giving them veto power over any French bomb, which France rejected after the humiliating Suez Crisis. Charles de Gaulle came to power in 1958, viewing an independent nuclear force as essential because he believed the US would not risk nuclear war to defend Europe. De Gaulle's 1959 Saint-Cyr speech outlined this doctrine of a purely French 'force de frappe.' Tensions escalated as de Gaulle demanded equal status with the US and UK in NATO and withdrew French Mediterranean naval forces. The episode details American opposition, including a 1961 CIA report speculating about de Gaulle's assassination and hoping for a more pro-American successor like Antoine Pinay. It cites a Swiss intelligence note alleging American presence during the 1961 Algiers putsch against de Gaulle. A pivotal 1961 meeting saw President Kennedy fail to assure de Gaulle that the US would use nuclear weapons to defend Europe, reinforcing de Gaulle's resolve. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, de Gaulle pledged support to Kennedy, demonstrating France's value as an ally. The narrative follows France's technical challenges in developing a hydrogen bomb (H-bomb), with the US blocking computer sales to hinder progress. In 1965, French fighters forced down an American U-2 spy plane photographing the Pierrelatte uranium complex, causing a diplomatic incident. France finally tested its H-bomb in 1968 and withdrew from NATO's integrated military command in 1966, achieving strategic independence. President Lyndon Johnson later reflected that confronting de Gaulle would have only fueled French nationalism.

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