Mururoa Atoll, 1971

A 1971 nuclear explosion in Mururoa Atoll, in French Polynesia, resembles something from another world. France announced on March 24, 2009, that it will compensate 150,000 victims of nuclear testing carried out in the 1960s in French Polynesia and Algeria, after decades of denying its responsibility. An initial sum of 10 million euros (14 million dollars) was set aside for military and civilian staff as well as local populations who fell ill from radiation exposure.