A powerful explosion rang out on Sunday at 3:18 p.m. in Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine): the imposing World War II bomb was destroyed by a controlled underground explosion, confirming the successful high-tension demining operation. A dull noise followed by heavy echoes reverberating for hundreds of meters around through the streets emptied of their inhabitants in this town located west of Paris, while a drone flew over the site to inspect the crater and ensure the total security of the area.
The operation, which began at 10:30 on Champarons Street, eventually turned into the dreaded scenario by midday. Specialists from the central laboratory of the prefecture of police (LCPP) had first tried to manually defuse the 1.06-meter long explosive without its tail section, measuring 33 centimeters in diameter. This delicate maneuver, unfortunately, proved impossible, according to the prefecture of police, so the bomb had to be buried.
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. Extensive covering work was then necessary to muffle the blast of the explosion.
Just before this announcement confirming the technical failure, the prefect of Hauts-de-Seine, Alexandre Bruguière, explained to the press that the teams were still at the crossroads of the two scenarios after successfully physically extracting the wall and positioning the ammunition in the two-meter deep pit. “Either the bomb disposal experts manage to defuse the bomb, or we will have to bury it and explode it on the spot,” summarized the senior official. This technical setback inevitably led to the forced evacuation of over a thousand residents from a 450-meter radius perimeter since dawn.
The state representative specified that “1,006 people” were redirected to the five reception centers opened by the cities of Colombes, Asnières-sur-Seine, and Bois-Colombes. The morning evacuation was “concluded in 3 hours 30 minutes,” also allowing for the assistance of “67 vulnerable people” by emergency services.
In the shelter of these vast complexes, families patiently waited throughout the day. Municipal employees tried to alleviate the wait by distributing coffee and biscuits, while some residents passed the time with a chessboard or board games. The younger ones occupied themselves with hoops and construction games.
In another specially arranged room, camp beds were set up to preserve the rest of vulnerable elderly people. The contrast was striking with the rest of the sports complex where a young man in a black jacket killed time sitting on the ground against a pillar with a bag of chips, while others immersed themselves in comics. “We have to deal with it,” testified Benedict Dally, a 38-year-old healthcare assistant sitting in a corner of a center waiting for instructions. “It’s difficult for us on a Sunday, like this, where on Monday others will go to work,” sighed this evacuated resident.
Outside, the sealed off area turned into a ghost town. The barricaded streets were completely deserted in the late morning, except for police cars making final rounds. While this red zone remained silent until the explosion, the extended security perimeter up to a kilometer was bustling with activity. Behind the yellow signs prohibiting traffic, there was a continuous ballet of vehicles from the Red Cross, Civil Protection, firefighters, and gendarmerie.
Nearly 800 agents secure this densely populated area of the Parisian suburbs, patrolled by aerial means to discourage opportunistic burglaries. Road traffic and the traffic of six RATP bus lines remain interrupted.
With the explosion now over, residents will have to wait for the final security checks before hoping to receive the SMS authorizing them to return home.
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-kilogram bomb, which required the evacuation of schools and residents under the surveillance of 300 police officers.
