On July 10, 1985, the French intelligence agency DGSE carried out a bombing attack on the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New Zealand. The operation, authorized by then-President François Mitterrand, aimed to prevent Greenpeace from disrupting France's nuclear testing at Moruroa in Polynesia. The attack resulted in the sinking of the vessel and the death of a photographer, sparking a global scandal and damaging France's international reputation. Forty years later, new investigations and publications, including a detailed inquiry by journalist Hervé Gattegno and a new edition of a book by New Zealand journalist David Robie prefaced by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, revisit the event and its implications. The incident is described as a state crime and a cover-up involving manipulation of official reports. Despite the controversy, only two operatives, Commander Mafart and Captain Prieur, were reprimanded, with some officials asserting they were scapegoated. The bombing galvanized the global environmental movement and remains a significant episode in the history of state-sponsored actions against environmental activism.