Two French lawmakers have urged the social affairs minister Marisol Touraine to amend the decree on compensation for victims of France's nuclear weapons tests.
Picture taken in 1971, showing a nuclear explosion in Mururoa atoll. Photo: AFP
The decree is about to be approved and will amend the 2010 compensation law by loosening the criteria for claims to be accepted.
The lawmakers, Jean-Patrick Gille and Arnaud Viala, who belong to rival parties, want the minister to ensure that unsuccessful claimants can resubmit their files.
Mr Gille said veterans would find it incomprehensible if the earlier rejection of their compensation bids were to be final.
The compensation law, drawn up by Herve Morin when he was the defence minister in 2009, has been widely criticised for being too restrictive because almost all claims have been thrown out.
France tested its atomic weapons first in Algeria and then from 1966 to 1996 in the South Pacific in a programme which involved more than 100,000 personnel.