Hauts-de

The prefect invited residents to return home after this “unique, exceptional event.” The device discovered on April 10 in Colombes was destroyed by explosion on Sunday, as specialists were unable to extract the detonator from the device.

A heavy mine clearing operation in the Hauts-de-Seine region forced the evacuation of residents for the entire day from a construction site where a World War II bomb had been found. Everything was set on Sunday to neutralize the bomb, but the extraction of the detonator failed Sunday morning, leading the professionals to explode the device. A powerful detonation was heard at 3:18 pm on Sunday.

During a press conference, Hauts-de-Seine Prefect Alexandre Bruguière commended the population for being “well informed, since Thursday” about this operation, and praised the “perfect cooperation” of the residents. “We would like to do something different on a Sunday than end up in a gym,” emphasized the prefect, expressing his happiness to now be able to invite the residents to return home after this “unique, exceptional event.” Hauts-de-Seine Senator Marie-Do Aeschlimann also praised the successful operation “in a climate of agreement and perfect cooperation.” “We can say it was a successful exercise,” concluded the senator. A total of five deminers orchestrated the operation, as detailed by Christophe Pezron, director of the Central Laboratory of the Police Prefecture (LCPP), during the same press conference.

Sector Access Restored

At 3:18 pm, a loud noise followed by heavy echoes reverberating for hundreds of meters could be heard through the deserted streets of this commune located west of Paris, while a drone flew over the site to inspect the crater and ensure the total security of the area. Images of the operation showed the heavy rusty metallic relic, measuring 1.06 meters in length without its tail for 33 centimeters in diameter, resting at the bottom of a sandy pit firmly closed by thick rough wooden planks embedded in front of concrete walls. Significant covering work was then required to attenuate the impact of the detonation.

At 4 pm, the Hauts-de-Seine Prefect indicated on Twitter that the mine clearing operation was completed. “The evacuation order is lifted. The sector is accessible again. Security instructions in the perimeters are now lifted,” read the tweet.

Nearly 800 Agents Secure the Completely Deserted Zone

Thousands of residents were evacuated from a radius of 450 meters starting at dawn. The operation began around 10:30 am on Champarons Street. Informed by the FR-Alert system, they had to leave their homes on foot. Alexandre Bruguière specified that “1006 people” were redirected to five reception centers opened by the cities of Colombes, Asnières-sur-Seine, and Bois-Colombes. The morning evacuation was “completed in 3 hours 30 minutes,” he added. Volunteers from the Civil Protection and municipal employees distributed coffee and biscuits while keeping the children entertained with comics, hoops, and Kapla construction games, observed an AFP journalist. A room equipped with camp beds was set up separately for the rest of the 220 vulnerable individuals taken care of by the emergency services.

Close to 800 agents secured the completely deserted area where police cars made final rounds with megaphones in the late morning behind the barriers. In an extended perimeter of one kilometer prohibiting any outdoor gatherings, evacuees mingled among Red Cross vehicles, firefighters, gendarmes, and police.

The area was patrolled and monitored by aerial means to prevent opportunistic break-ins, while the traffic of six RATP bus lines was cut off. On Thursday, Hauts-de-Seine Prefect Alexandre Bruguière described this intervention as “risky,” requiring a “high level of preparation.”

The neutralization of such remnants in a dense urban environment recalls the shutdown of the Gare du Nord in Paris in March 2025 after the discovery of a 500-kilogram bomb, which required the evacuation of schools and residents under the surveillance of 300 police officers.