In 1954 Bergier met Louis Pauwels, a writer and editor, in Paris. They would later collaborate on the book "Le Matin des Magiciens", which was published in France in 1960. This book takes the reader on a neo-surrealistic tour of modern European history focusing on the purported influence of the occult and secret societies on politics. It also attempts to connect alchemy with nuclear physics, hinting that early alchemists understood more about the actual function of atoms than they are credited.