The flagship of the nuclear deterrent component of the French Navy, the Indomptable submarine has reached the end of the road. The final stage of her remarkable career: deconstruction.

It’s a difficult task, combining technology and human expertise: "There is no more complicated an object than a Missile Launching Nuclear Submarine, an SNLE," explains the site's programme director. Forty years after she was commissioned, the Indomitable still holds sensitive secrets; even the size of the welds and the thickness of the steel plates is information that cannot be disclosed.

We explore this massive and usually impenetrable construction site, where some sixty people were involved in carving up and boning this steel monster. What tools and techniques did they use? What problems did they encounter? What challenges did the teams have to overcome? How did they deal with toxic materials such as asbestos and lead dust?