July 6, 2008: France is paying a British firm, Able UK, about six million dollars to dismantle their decommissioned aircraft carrier, the Clemenceau. Three years ago, France tried to send the Clemenceau to India, where large ships are dismantled for practically nothing (the value of the scrap, and the low pay of the workers making that possible). However, environmentalist NGOs made a big stink, and forced the French to abort the voyage to India. So now the 26,000 ton ship, and over a thousand tons of noxious substances (most of that asbestos) will be carefully taken apart in an environmentally acceptable way.