# France tests first nuclear weapon (1960)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1960-france-tests-first-nuclear-weapon
Location: Algerian Sahara

The Gerboise Bleue test made France the world’s fourth nuclear-armed power. Within the broader Fifth Republic period, The 1958 Constitution created a stronger presidency and a durable Fifth Republic. Decolonization, European integration, social change, economic shocks and recurring debates over identity, secularism and the role of the state have shaped contemporary France. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Charles de Gaulle (President of the French Republic). France tests first nuclear weapon mattered because it changed material life, state capacity, economic networks or France’s ability to project power. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
France tests first nuclear weapon mattered because it changed material life, state capacity, economic networks or France’s ability to project power.

Ruler at the time: [Charles de Gaulle](https://history-france.com/rulers/charles-de-gaulle-1959)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — France tests first nuclear weapon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=France+tests+first+nuclear+weapon&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — France tests first nuclear weapon](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=France+tests+first+nuclear+weapon)
- [Élysée — Institutions of the Fifth Republic](https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-institutions)