Toulouse: will deminers find shells in Francazal?
The pyrotechnic depollution worksite at the Francazal military base started on Monday, October 11. The construction of a building for the Army requires a team of deminers to dig a plot of one hectare. Shells dating from World War II could be discovered. Five houses adjoining the site were evacuated, as a precaution.
A “treasure hunt” of a new kind has started, to the north-west of the Francazal military base, in Cugnaux. Giant sandbags were consulted for “protection”, along the fences of the houses. Five houses, located on Chemin de Villenouvelle, in the towns of Cugnaux and Portet-sur-Garonne, were treated for the day, as a precaution. Indeed, a few meters away, a mechanical excavator methodically digs the ground of the base. The risk is minimal, but the Haute-Garonne prefecture and the Army did not want to take any risk.
More than 200 pieces of metal are buried on this one hectare plot
Indeed, more than 200 metal parts have been spotted underground, thanks to an electromagnetic survey. The demining team is based on this precise statement, which indicates the size of the object and its position. It is probable that shells dating from the three bombardments of the Francazal base, in June and August 1944, could be found. In this case, they will be destroyed on site. Sand “sarcophagi” placed above the shell, to reduce the shock wave as much as possible. Homes – from twenty to more than two hundred depending on the position of the shell – could be evacuated from time to time.
Any shells discovered will be destroyed on site
These destruction would take place in early November. This week of October 11, only five houses were evacuated. Their occupants must leave their accommodation at 9 a.m., and can return from 5 p.m. “It is a common procedure, throughout the national territory. The risk is minimal, and the precautions maximum, to ensure the safety of the population”, specifies the prefecture of Haute-Garonne.