Nuclear tests

In the face of worldwide protest, the French government exploded a nuclear device recently and now continues preparations for more nuclear tests. Throughout the debate on this issue I have never heard the answers to two simple and, I believe, relevant questions.

First, why are the nuclear tests necessary? Is it necessary to further refine and improve the destructiveness and deterrent effect of bombs which so horrified the world 50 years ago in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Second, if the testing is harmless to both people and the environment, as the French government repeatedly states, then why is it not carried out in France instead of on a colonial outpost whose inhabitants, along with those of nearby countries, are so obviously opposed to such tests?

I expect the French authorities to have answers to my questions and look forward to a reply from a representative of the French Embassy.

HUGH COLLETT

Jakarta