French veterans of the nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific have called on parliament to adopt a law recognising a link between the tests and the veterans' health.
The Veterans Association expressed its support for a bill on the issue drawn up by MP Marie-Helene Aubert who also wants to make the state monitor the health of people living near the test areas.
The call was made at the association's inaugural general asssembly in Angers to discuss problems emanating from the 210 nuclear tests in French Polynesia and in the Sahara desert.
The Association expressed its support for a bill on the issue drawn up by MP Marie-Helene Aubert who also wants to make the state monitor the health of people living near the test sites.
The veterans and their surviving relatives have called for the secrecy to be lifted and to grant access to the medical files, alleging that the military authorities failed to offer any protection to the personnel.
A survey among veterans found that about a third of them had one or more cancers.
