On this day in January 1996, the last nuclear test explosion by France was conducted at the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atoll test site in the South Pacific.
The underground explosion was equivalent to 120,000 tonnes of conventional explosives, six times the force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
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It was the sixth in what was to have been a series of eight tests announced in June 1995 by French President Jacques Chirac. The testing broke a three year moratorium by France and resulted in international protests and the boycott of French goods
On this day, the US male Figure Skating championship was won by Rudy Galindo. and in 53rd Golden Globes: "Sense and Sensibility", Nicolas Cage, & Sharon Stone were the winners