The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Op\u00e9ration Satanique, was an operation by the “action” branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction G\u00e9n\u00e9rale de la S\u00e9curit\u00e9 Ext\u00e9rieure (DGSE), carried out on July 10, 1985. It aimed to sink the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New Zealand, to prevent her from interfering in a nuclear test in Moruroa.<\/p>\n
Fernando Pereira, a photographer, drowned on the sinking ship. Two French agents were arrested by the New Zealand Police on passport fraud and immigration charges. They were charged with arson, conspiracy to commit arson, willful damage, and murder. As part of a plea bargain, they pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to ten years, of which they served just over two.<\/p>\n
The scandal resulted in the resignation of the French Defence Minister Charles Hernu. [more<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Op\u00e9ration Satanique, was an operation by the “action” branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction G\u00e9n\u00e9rale de la S\u00e9curit\u00e9 Ext\u00e9rieure (DGSE), carried out on July 10, 1985. It aimed to sink the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New… <\/p>\n