Be A-Test Site,

Mangareva Not To

Paris Paper Says

The Paris newspaper Le Monde re ported on March 15 that although the island of Mangareva in the Gambler Archipelago of French Polynesia had been frequently mentioned as a new site for French atomic tests, it did not seem that this information was well founded.

Le Monde was discussing reports that France was to explode an atomic device in the Sahara, and that it was understood that this test would not be the last.

"It is already envisaged that a new series of aerial explosions will be car ried out at a different site, this time near an expanse of sea," the news paper claimed. It added that Man gareva did not seem the likely site.

The Sahara explosion that Le Monde referred to took place on March 18, and on March 25 Australian Associated Press reported from Paris that if, as was reliably reported, the test was a success, "it probably means France now has the atomic trigger for the first H-bomb she hopes to explode in the Pacific next year".

So there is still a difference of opinion on whether France will use Mangareva or some other island in the Pacific for future tests, and until an official announcement is made, everyone will be guessing.