Two activists fighting for compensation are being commemorated today in Tahiti as the territory marks the anniversary of France's first nuclear weapons test in the Pacific.
Bruno Barrillot Photo: Tahiti-Infos
The men have died in the past year still pursuing the French state for compensation.
The French military carried out 193 tests over 30 years in French Polynesia after years of testing in Algeria
A mass for the victims of radiation is followed by a meeting in the afternoon in Papeete's Jacques Chirac square to also remember the founder of the Moruroa e tatou veterans organisation John Doom and veteran expert Bruno Barrillot.
The gathering comes after another organisation Association 193 held marches over the weekend to push for better recognition by France of radiation-induced illnesses.
John Doom (L), the founder of the association for the victims of nuclear tests called "Mururoa e Tatou", reads the list of the 319 members who died since the creation of the association on 2 July 1966. Photo: AFP
Last week, the pro-independence opposition, which has its roots in the anti-nuclear movement, said it would pursue France for crimes against humanity.
That push echoes the Maohi Protestant church's plan to take France to the International Criminal Court.