WWII bomb to be defused in Marseille

The construction site near the old harbour of Marseille where the bomb was discovered

On 29th December 2011, workers unveiled a U.S. aircraft bomb at the centre of a major construction site near the old harbour in Marseille. Come 18th January 2012 - 70 years after it was dropped on French soil – experts are expected to defuse the device.

It’s a risky procedure and, as a precaution, everyone within a radius of 800 metres will be evacuated. That’s 15,000 people from the centre of Marseille. Secretary General of the Prefecture Christophe Merlin told local newspaper La Provence that his agency is looking at all options to minimise the inconvenience, including building a wall around the bomb to reduce the evacuation radius to just 600 people. Residents in the 400 to 800 metre radius will only be required to stay in their homes during the operation.

The wall would measure 50 metres in length and 30 metres in width and would be filled with a special material that not only contains the detonation wave, but also absorbs the shrapnel. After a successful detonation, the bomb can then be transported by ship to the sea where it will be exploded.

But the wall is not exactly cheap. It costs several thousand euros and would swallow up around 1,200 cubic metres of earth. On the other hand, cordoning off parts of the harbour and downtown will cause considerable losses to shipping and trade. After all, the winter sales have just started.

During World War II, Marseille was attacked several times by Allied bomber squadrons, as was most of the Côte d’Azur. The purpose of the bombing, which occurred particularly in the spring and summer of 1944, was to decimate German occupiers and their forts. The attacks were used as preparations for the Allied landing in Provence, which began on 15th August 1944. Many bombs and grenades are still believed to be lying unexploded along the coast.

But now, one of the duds is disrupting construction of the new Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (MuCEM). The museum is one of the flagship projects of Marseille and its role as the European Capital of Culture in 2013. With only around 12 months left before the start of the major cultural event, just a few steel structures exist on the project site.

And there’s another important date to consider - a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 24th January.

Peter Hacker