On Sunday, near Paris, deminers carried out the controlled detonation of a World War II explosive device, as reported by an AFP journalist, after the evacuation of several thousand people. Close to 800 police officers sealed off the site, located in the northwest suburb of Colombes, where the device was discovered on April 10 during construction work. The device measured 1.06 meters in length without its tail fin, with a diameter of 33 centimeters. An AFP journalist heard the explosion around 3:20 pm local time when the deminers detonated the bomb in a two-meter deep pit. Authorities confirmed the successful completion of the operation. The controlled detonation was ordered after an initial unsuccessful attempt to extract the detonator from the device, which was over a meter long, not including the rear part. Images of the operation showed the heavy, rusted metallic relic resting at the bottom of a sandy pit firmly secured by thick raw wooden planks embedded in front of concrete walls. Substantial covering work was then necessary to muffle the blast of the detonation. A dull sound followed by heavy echoes reverberating for hundreds of meters around echoed through the empty streets of this commune west of Paris, while a drone flew over the site to inspect the crater and ensure the total security of the area. Residents within a radius of 450 meters were advised Sunday morning to go to local reception centers. Authorities plan to allow them to return home later in the day. Some local roads were closed to traffic and public transport. On Thursday, Alexandre Brugere, a local official, described the operation as “risky” and emphasized the need for “meticulous preparation.” Unexploded World War II munitions are still being discovered across Europe, particularly in Germany where bombs are regularly unearthed at construction sites, 80 years after the end of the conflict. The neutralization of such relics in dense urban areas recalls the paralysis of the Gare du Nord in Paris in March 2025 after the discovery of a 500-kilo bomb, which required the evacuation of schools and residents under the surveillance of 300 police officers.
