After the outbreak of World War II, French scientists began working on the country’s nuclear program—not with the explicit intention of developing a bomb, but rather to allow France to become self-sufficient and supply its own energy. While this program was suspended during the German occupation, in October 1945, General Charles de Gaulle created the Atomic Energy Commission (CAE), a governing body supporting nuclear research in the medical, industrial, and defense fields. In 1956, the CAE opened the Marcoule Nuclear Site, the country’s first active power plant. Three years later, France would successfully test its first nuclear bomb in Algeria. Here, one of France’s most famous poster artists, Bernard Villemot, presents a futuristic design in which man harnesses the wonders of atomic energy in his hands, emphasizing the advancement of French nuclear science. The design would be reissued in 1971 to promote an exhibition of atomic energy in Paris.