THE FRENCH LAUNDRY
Moruroa, 5:34, July 2, 1966.A gigantic ball of fire, visible for five hundred square kilometres, tears forever apart the tranquil silence of this region in the South Pacific, where its inhabitants by history have been made French citizens. The first atomic experimental explosion, later identified as particularly polluting, �Aldebaran� is the first in a sequence of 46 atmospheric and 147 underground nuclear tests. Since, like a cover of lead, a heavy silence has followed the rumble of the mushroom shaped clouds, which for some forty years have generated multiple, devastating consequences on health, environment, economy and social realities and which until today have been ignored and premeditatedly kept secret.
The Laundry narrates the outrage against an entire island population; having their lives turned upside down, and how they proceed, despite. Through the life on the Polynesian atoll, a larger picture is painted. A small nation becomes part of large-scale politics, where a total lack of transparency characterizes the activities. For some forty years France has tested its nuclear devises, claiming them to be harmless. A first investigative committee shows evidence that the total sum of 46 atmospheric tests done between 1966 and 1974 have resulted in radioactive fallout over the entire archipelago of French Polynesia (larger the whole of Europe). This is contrary to what has always been confirmed by the French military authorities.
Repeatedly asked to give crucial information, the response of France has been total silence. In stark contrast, the reactions in French Polynesia have been of great anger and feelings of betrayal. The picture of the past, the reality once seen as a prosperous present and future, crumbles. One sunny afternoon 1963 General de Gaulle stands on the main square in Papeete, Tahiti, gloriously speaking of the magnificent nuclear program, which will ensure fortune and prosperity for them all. A new sun will rise on the horizon. The enthusiasm among the islanders is strong and the few worried voices are drowned beneath the cheers. Most people are very glad to be a part of the new era and the economic standard of living is raised during the period of the nuclear program. But the assurances of no danger are not true.
This is a story told by a weave of several layers. A very personal and intimate account of the daily life on Hao, one of the atolls close to Moruroa showing the consequences of the nuclear program creates the foundation. The personal stories are set against a background of archive footage and testimonies from veterans, narrated information, explaining the historical development in a larger perspective. The process of the first Polynesian inquiry commission is followed on locations where no investigations ever have been done before and further in Paris in the French National Assembly, showing the braveness and commitment from this small nation, fighting for transparency and justice from the French super power, ranking nr 5 on the nuclear top � 10. Through poetic reflections the fate of human existence in the shadow of nuclear weapons of mass destruction will be brought up � to raise questions about our responsibility as individuals and as a global community, for peace, for our planet and for future generations.