Gerboise Bleue

Gerboise Bleue ("blue jerboa") was the name of the first French nuclear test. It was an atomic bomb detonated near Reggane, in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert on 13 February 1960, during the Algerian War (1954–62). General Pierre Marie Gallois was instrumental in the endeavour, and earned the nickname of père de la bombe A ("father of the A-bomb").

is the French word for jerboa, a desert rodent found in the Sahara, while blue is the first color of the French tricolor flag. The second and third bombs were named respectively "white" (Gerboise Blanche) and "red" (Gerboise Rouge), the remaining colors of the flag.

With Gerboise Bleue, France became the fourth nuclear power, after the United States, the USSR, and the United Kingdom. Gerboise Bleue was by far the largest first test bomb up to that date, larger than the American "Trinity" (20 kt), the Soviet "RDS-1" (22 kt), or the British "Hurricane" (25 kt). The yield was 70 kilotons, bigger than these three bombs put together. President De Gaulle stated:

In comparison, Fat Man, the Nagasaki bomb, was 22 kilotons, one-third as powerful.

Only two other A-bombs tested in the Sahara facilities were more powerful: "Rubis" (<100 kt, 20 October 1963), and "Saphir" (<150 kt, 25 February 1965). Both were detonated underground at the Tan Afella facility.

All other French atomic-bomb tests, including Canopus, were carried out in French Polynesia from 1966 to 1996. The last bomb, Xouthos (<120 kt), was detonated on 27 January 1996.

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