Editing François Mitterrand (section)

===Bombing of the ''Rainbow Warrior''===
{{Main|Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior}}
{{Further|France–New Zealand relations}}
On 10 July 1985, the ''[[Rainbow Warrior (1955)|Rainbow Warrior]]'', a [[Greenpeace]] vessel, was in New Zealand preparing to protest against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific when two explosions sank the ship, resulting in the death of freelance photographer [[Fernando Pereira]]. The New Zealand government called the bombing the first terrorist attack in the country.<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3226,36-671207@51-671291,0.html Greenpeace, vingt ans après : le rapport secret de l'amiral Lacoste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050712021238/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3226,36-671207@51-671291,0.html |date=12 July 2005 }}, ''[[Le Monde]]'', 10 July 2005 (Subscription) {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Painton |first=Frederick |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959987-1,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120183028/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959987-1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 November 2011 |title=France "Criminal, Absurd . . . and Stupid" – 30&nbsp;Sep. 1985 |magazine=Time |date=30 September 1985 |access-date=3 June 2010}}</ref> In mid-1985, French Defence Minister [[Charles Hernu]] was forced to resign after New Zealand authorities arrested [[DGSE]] (French intelligence services) agents who confessed to planting the explosives and later pleaded guilty.

On the twentieth anniversary of the sinking, it was revealed that François Mitterrand had personally authorised the mission.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article542620.ece |title= François Mitterrand ordered bombing of Rainbow Warrior, spy chief says |date=11 July 2005 |work=The Times |access-date=11 March 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706181503/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article542620.ece |archive-date=6 July 2008}}</ref> Admiral Pierre Lacoste, the former head of the DGSE, made a statement saying Pereira's death weighed heavily on his conscience. Television New Zealand (TVNZ) also sought access to the court video recording hearing where two French agents pleaded guilty, which they [[n:TVNZ wins court battle to screen Rainbow Warrior court footage|won a year later]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-09-26 |title=TVNZ wins right to screen Rainbow Warrior trial tapes |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tvnz-wins-right-to-screen-rainbow-warrior-trial-tapes/UARC5KY3TACDH6N4BNXG4KIAHQ/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref>