The police successfully defused the explosive device, which weighs more than 1,000 pounds and was found near tracks north of the French capital during landscaping work.

Disposal experts managed to unscrew and then destroy its fuse, but the half-ton British-made bomb could have caused major damage had it exploded after workers inadvertently dug it up. Still, the police operation surrounding the bomb's disposal triggered major disruption for hundreds of thousands

The cascade of transportation woes hit morning rush-hour train services before spreading to the road network, with Paris police closing the A1 highway that feeds into the north of the city, as well as sections of the capital’s always-busy ring road.