Mangareva

Decision Soon

A decision on whether France will use the island of Mangareva, in French Polynesia, as a missile launching base is expected to be made during the November sessions of the French Parliament (“PIM”, Sept., p. 21).

A Lancaster bomber of the French Navy was reported in mid- September to be making a photo graphic survey of the Gambiers, and the naval hydrographic vessel “La Perouse” was said to be doing hydrographic work in the group.

An unconfirmed report from Paris in mid-September said that a team of French experts from the French Sahara test centre at Reganne had left for Mangareva “some weeks ago”.

Noumea newspapers have de voted a lot of space recently to rumours that Mangareva, 900 miles south-east of Tahiti, has al ready been chosen as a missile base.

Most of the information about the base has come from the widely circulated Parisian magazine “Paris Match”. First work on the base is said to be planned for early 1963, and that the base will be ready in 1964. About 3,000 French tech nicians will be employed.

The reports say that a new town will be built in Tahiti to house the families of the technicians. Port Phaeton in the Mataiea district is the rumoured location. It is said that a military port will also be built in Tahiti where material will be landed and stored.

Although only rocket launching has been mentioned in most of the newspaper articles, a leading Noumea paper has suggested that atomic tests may also be made at Mangareva. The paper said that France had to find a new atomic testing ground, and that everything pointed to it being in the Pacific, although France’s Crozet Islands, south of Madagascar, might also be considered.