On 13 February 1960, France cemented its status as a nuclear power by detonating its first atomic bomb, "Gerboise Bleue," in the heart of the Algerian Sahara.
This 70-kilotonne explosion not only marked France as the world's fourth nuclear nation, following the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, but also underscored President Charles de Gaulle's vision of strategic independence.
The test, conducted amid the Algerian War of Independence, was met with international criticism, particularly from African nations and anti-colonial movements, who saw it as yet another assertion of French dominance over its waning empire.
Nonetheless, for France, the event heralded a new era of geopolitical clout, ensuring its place at the high table of global nuclear powers.
