In June, French President Jacques Chirac revealed that nuclear tests would be conducted in the Pacific at the Mururoa coral atoll. These tests, Chirac, stated, would consist of eight nuclear explosions in a tunnel 1,800 to 3,000 feet below Mururoa beginning in September up until May 96. Chirac declares that these tests are necessary for computer simulation in the future. France has been bombarded with criticism, not only from environmental activists, but also from political standpoints. Japan and Australia officially protested French experiments and have convinced other Asian and Pacific nations to agree. New Zealand and Chil