The bomb was found on 10 April during construction work on Rue des Champarons in Colombes. Ahead of the disposal, local official Alexandre Brugère warned the operation would be risky and required a high level of preparation. Nearly 800 police officers were deployed to enforce a 900m-wide evacuation zone, while a second, wider zone extending a kilometre from the bomb's location allowed residents to remain indoors but restricted outdoor activity.
Residents within a 450m radius were instructed by police to leave their homes by 07:00 local time. According to BBC News - World (major_media), Alida described being told by authorities to close windows and shutters when leaving, but not taking any belongings. Reception centres were set up for those forced to evacuate, including support for vulnerable residents requiring medical assistance, though the exact number of people who used these centres remains unclear.
The authorities told us to close our windows and shutters when we left the house, but we didn't take anything - we left everything as it was.
An initial attempt to remove the device's detonator failed, prompting authorities to destroy the historic munition in situ. Police said bomb disposal experts conducted the controlled detonation at 15:20 on Sunday. The evacuation order was lifted shortly after 16:00, with the Préfet des Hauts-de-Seine confirming the operation was carried out successfully.
The specific type of World War Two bomb and the reason for the detonator removal failure have not been disclosed, and no injuries or property damage from the explosion have been reported.