Yacht Faces Nuclear Sponsor Fallout

The world's largest nuclear energy group, Areva of France, faces a storm of protest across the Pacific over its sponsorship of the French entry in the America's Cup yacht race.

Areva's £12m support for Le Défi Areva has angered activists in the Pacific and New Zealand, as the yacht will race from Auckland harbour where French secret agents blew up Greenpeace's anti-nuclear ship the Rainbow Warrior in 1985, killing one person.

"France committed murder in those Auckland waters with the Rainbow Warrior, so for a nuclear company to come in and sponsor a race is just immoral," said Stanley Simpson of the Fiji-based Pacific Concerns Resource Centre. "We will protest against it."

New Zealanders have dubbed the yacht "the Atomic Warrior". Greenpeace warned that non-violent protests could disrupt the prestigious America's Cup.

Areva is majority-owned by the French government. A controlling stake is held by the country's atomic energy commission, the organisation that oversaw a nuclear testing programme in the South Pacific, which was halted in 1996.

Areva's involvement has also prompted protests in France, where Greenpeace said its activists may try to prevent the boat - currently being built in Brittany - being launched.

Areva's vice-president, Jacques-Emmanuel Saulnier, said the company was only created last year and had no connection with military nuclear programmes, French nuclear testing in the Pacific, or the Rainbow Warrior. "We should not be held accountable for what happened 20 years ago," he said.

New Zealand is a nuclear-free country and it is illegal for any ships carrying waste or nuclear-powered submarines to enter its waters.

The French challenge is due to arrive in Auckland in August. The first Cup race, in October, will decide which of 11 crews from eight countries gets to challenge the New Zealand team, the current holder of the cup, next February.