Thousands of passengers in Paris and London were stranded Friday after the discovery of a World War II bomb on tracks leading to the Gare du Nord station halted traffic at France's busiest railway terminus.

All traffic to the train station, which hosts Eurostar trains as well as high-speed and local services, was closed as Paris police worked to disable the device.

Speaking to the BBC before the French transport minister confirmed the WW2 bomb had been defused, Lejeune says they thought it was the "better option" to cancel all 32 services between London and Paris today because it would give passengers "clarity" amid the "uncertainty".