Paris: Unexploded bombs and shells from World War II remain a major hazard in western France that has been poorly investigated, the French environmental group Robin des Bois said on Monday.
"Around 600,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on France between June 1940 and May 1945, and around 15 percent of that did not explode," its president, Jacky Bonnemains, said.
Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) issued its report ahead of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, which marked the start of France's liberation from four years of Nazi occupation.
The landings on the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944 were preceded by an intense air assault on ports, bridges and railway junctions.
As US, British and Canadian troops pushed out from the beachhead, towns in Normandy were bombed and shelled to slow progress for German reinforcements.
According to Robin des Bois, combat engineers in western France were called in 556 times between 2008 and 2013 alone to deal with unexploded ordnance.
They handled 14,000 munitions found in fields, construction sites, gardens or beaches, prompting the temporary evacuation of 95,000 people in total.
More than half of the ordnance was found at a former military site at Thouars, in the Poitou-Charentes region, which was being converted to a solar farm.
Normandy accounted for 221 out of the 556 call-outs, followed by Brittany with 175.
Robin des Bois said the public was more familiar with hazards in the former World War I trenches in northern and eastern France, which each year yield a harvest of high-explosive and gas shells.
But the perils in the west were less well known.
"There is a lack of information for the public, and risky behaviour is spreading," said Charlotte Nithart, the group's director.
Five people have been wounded by exploding ordnance since 2008. A man was killed in 2009 near Caen, one of the major battlefields in Normandy, when he tried to defuse 10 small shells by himself.
Among some of the more hair-raising cases, Dutch holidaymakers in Houlgate, Normandy, brought a 35-centimetre (14-inch) unexploded shell back to their campsite, and two grenades were found in a rubbish skip in Martinvast in the Manche department.
"If you see something, don't touch it, don't move it and warn the authorities," said Nithart.
"Around 600,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on France between June 1940 and May 1945, and around 15 percent of that did not explode," its president, Jacky Bonnemains, said.
Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) issued its report ahead of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, which marked the start of France's liberation from four years of Nazi occupation.
As US, British and Canadian troops pushed out from the beachhead, towns in Normandy were bombed and shelled to slow progress for German reinforcements.
Advertisement
They handled 14,000 munitions found in fields, construction sites, gardens or beaches, prompting the temporary evacuation of 95,000 people in total.
Advertisement
Normandy accounted for 221 out of the 556 call-outs, followed by Brittany with 175.
Advertisement
But the perils in the west were less well known.
Advertisement
Five people have been wounded by exploding ordnance since 2008. A man was killed in 2009 near Caen, one of the major battlefields in Normandy, when he tried to defuse 10 small shells by himself.
Advertisement
"If you see something, don't touch it, don't move it and warn the authorities," said Nithart.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Bullseye! India's Homegrown Glide Bomb 'Gaurav' Hits Target 100 Km Away 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing India Conducts 1st Flight Test Of Long-Range Glide Bomb 'Gaurav' From Sukhoi Fighter Jet 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel Mob Vandalised Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Crime Scene? Cops Respond Water On Mars: Uncovering All The Locations Water Was Found On Red Planet Huge Participation At Independence Day Celebrations By Army's Spear Corps Akasa Air Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Bhopal For Sick Passenger Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.