Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled underground detonation of a World War II explosive near Paris on Sunday, a AFP journalist reported, after authorities evacuated more than a thousand residents.
Almost 800 police cordoned off the site in the northwestern suburb of Colombes, where the device was first discovered on April 10.
An AFP journalist heard the explosion around 15:20 (1320 GMT) when experts detonated the bomb in a two-meter-deep (6.5-foot) pit.
Officials also confirmed that the operation had been carried out.
The controlled explosion was ordered after specialists in an attempt failed to remove the detonator from the explosive device, which measured more than a meter in length, excluding the tail section.
Footage of the operation showed rusted metal fragments at the bottom of a sandbox, reinforced with thick wooden planks and concrete walls.
Residents within a radius of 450 meters were told early Sunday to move to local reception centres. Authorities expect to let them back into their homes later in the day. Some local roads were closed to traffic and public transport.
Local official Alexandre Brugere had on Thursday described the operation as “risky” and required a “high level of preparation”.
Unexploded ordnance from the Second World War is still found across Europe, particularly in Germany, where bombs are regularly discovered on construction sites 80 years after the conflict ended.
In 2025, the discovery of a 500-kilogram war bomb halted traffic at Paris Gare du Nord station, France’s busiest rail terminal.
