Police evacuate 6,500 in Paris to defuse WW2 bomb

French police evacuated 6,500 people on Sunday from a Paris suburb in order to defuse a World War Two bomb recently found on a construction site.

The unexploded, 500 kg (1,100 lb) British bomb was discovered on Jan. 27 during works on a site where a Renault car factory once stood in Paris' western Boulogne-Billancourt suburb, local police said.

Authorities evacuated residents in the vicinity as a safety precaution even though the bomb was not considered dangerous. They were able to return to their homes shortly after mid-day.

The factory was used to make vehicles for occupying German forces during World War Two, which made the plant a target for Allied bombers.

Reuters