This paper addresses the question of how French Polynesia was selected as the site for the French Centre for Pacific Tests in the 1960s. We argue that the Centre’s construction constituted an imperial resurgence for French Polynesia, marking the encounter and reconfiguration of different and previously unfamiliar worldviews. The article elucidates the rationales behind the choice of French Polynesia as a testing ground, with particular attention to perceptions of that territory among those in charge of the decision. We show that a frontier mentality was conducive to the reactivation of colonial schemes of thought, in a broader context of imperial resurgence in French overseas territories.