Overview

• Major retrospectives are revisiting how the DGSE planted two bombs on Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor, killing photographer Fernando Pereira.
• In a new interview, former DGSE combat diver Jean-Luc Kister offered a public apology and confirmed that orders to sink the vessel came from high levels of the French government.
• Civil society leaders are drawing parallels between the 1985 bombing and today’s use of SLAPP lawsuits, administrative bans and other legal tactics to silence environmental and human rights groups.
• The investigative work of Le Monde journalists Edwy Plenel and Bernard Le Gendre, who exposed a hidden third sabotage team, remains a key example of journalism breaking official cover-ups.
• The affair’s fallout led to ministerial resignations, official apologies to New Zealand and reparations payments, leaving a legacy that strengthened protections for civic watchdogs.