The French government was making plans to do some nuclear tests in the Pacific ocean. Many people thought that was dangerous, and Greenpeace decided to send their ship Rainbow Warrior to the place where the French wanted to do the tests. Christine Cabon secretly sent information about the Rainbow Warrior to the French government. The French plan was to damage the ship and stop it sailing to the Pacific. After that, the nuclear tests could happen.
On 7 July 1985, the Rainbow Warrior arrived in Auckland. The ship looked very good, and a lot of people came to see it. Three days later, on the evening of 10 July, there was a birthday party on the ship. Around 8.30 p.m while people enjoyed themselves on the ship, a French diver went quietly into the water and swam to the Rainbow Warrior. He put something onto the side of the ship in two places, and swam away again. Nobody on the ship saw or heard anything. Later, some of the people left the party to go for