The unexploded bomb was found near the centre of Rouen in northern France. (Photo: AFP/Charly Triballeau) |
The 220kg bomb was found in late June during construction work near the centre of Rouen in Normandy.
Residents living within a 270m radius of the site were told to leave the area early Sunday ahead of the operation, which wound up shortly after 11am (0900 GMT).
Discoveries of bombs and shells from World War II are common in France and elsewhere on the continent.
Last month, the French navy defused an unexploded shell found in the sea near a popular beach in Cannes on the Mediterranean coast.
In May, nearly 9,000 people had to be evacuated after a bomb was uncovered in Dresden, Germany, a city which was heavily bombed toward the end of the war.
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