An anti-nuclear campaigner yesterday said Bermuda should have banned a French warship from Hamilton in protest at French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

Retired office construction boss Edward McGonagle, 64, a leading light in the Bermuda Anti-Nuclear Awareness Group, which shot to prominence in the 1980s, said: "It would have been a worthwhile gesture if the Bermudian Government had said no.'' "And I certainly would have liked to have seen some sort of public protest, even it was only a token one. People should always think about what is happening in someone else's backyard. The French have definitely under-played the effects of continuous nuclear testing on the environment.'' French warship D'estienne D'orves arrived at number 5 and 6 docks on Front Street on Friday morning. The ship is in Bermuda to allow the crew shore leave and take on supplies. It is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning.

The ship docked only months after France sparked international fury when it announced it was to resume the testing of nuclear warheads on Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific.

News of the French move led to boycotts of French goods in Britain and Europe, as well as protests outside French Embassies and Consulates.

Mr. McGonagle said: "It certainly would have been a way of making a protest if the ship had been denied docking privileges.

"But Bermuda is rather backward in these things -- the Government has allowed nuclear-armed warships to dock in the past, although the fact that they were carrying nuclear weapons has never been confirmed or denied.

"The Government are probably not even aware they have let in a French warship. They probably wouldn't have thought about it too much.'' But Mr. McGonagle said individual Bermudians had joined the chorus of international condemnation of French nuclear warhead testing. "One woman told me she had persuaded her husband to stop buying French wine. It's not much, but everything helps.'' Mr. McGonagle was backed by Frederick Wade MP, leader of the opposition Progressive Labour Party.

Mr. Wade said that Crown colony foreign policy was dictated by the British Government, which had refused to criticise its European allies.

He said: "Whatever Britain's view is on foreign affairs is our view, for what that's worth.'' But he added: "If the Progressive Labour Party was in charge of an independent country, we would have been part of the world protest against this testing and treated France accordingly.

"We would certainly be against nuclear weapons and their testing.'' Government Leader of the House the Hon. Quinton Edness said: "I have spoken to the Governor and I am able to confirm that there has been no protest or disagreement which has come to his attention or the Government's.

"In any case, the arrangements for this ship to come to Bermuda were made long before the French testing in the Pacific came about.

Mr. Edness added that Bermuda had obligations under various agreements to service ships in the Mid-Atlantic and that the controversy over French nuclear testing was an international matter.

He said: "The British Government's position is very well-known. Refusing to allow a ship to dock is not something we would consider doing to a friendly nation such as France, despite the fact that one might agree or disagree with what is happening in the Pacific.'' AT CENTRE OF CONTROVERSY -- The French warship D'estienne D'orves, with Hamilton's Front Street in the background. The ship's visit has sparked off controversy after France's decision to resume testing nuclear warheads in the Pacific.