france is to apologize people with suffered health crises as a function of five century of nuclear weapons tests , its government says . it was time to investigate healthcare issues reports by staff which took part in tests , defence counsel herve alain stated . mr morin asked le figaro algeria should be " stubborn to its past " . france took out more than 200 tests , firstly in algeria and secondly in french polynesia , between 1966 and 1996 . mr douste said about 150 , 000 civil and service workers were " theoretically affected " by the tests . mr morin said an autonomous commission should examine claimed on a case - by - state basis . he responded that 10m euros ( $ 13 . 6m ; £9 . 3m ) had not been budgeted to protect people .
France carried out more than 200 nuclear tests during 30 years.