France is set to issue a survival manual to households across the country, warning citizens how to respond to an invasion or any other ‘imminent threat’.
The dramatic move comes as tensions rise in Europe and fears grow over Russia‘s aggressive tactics.
The new 20-page booklet, reportedly packed with 63 measures, will advise the French on how to protect themselves and their families in the event of armed conflict, natural disasters, industrial accidents or even a nuclear leak.
It will include tips on how to create a ‘survival kit’ with essentials including six litres of water, canned food, batteries, a torch and basic medical supplies such as paracetamol and bandages.
Crucially, it will offer advice on what to do if an attack is imminent, including how to join local defence efforts, such as signing up for reserve units or firefighting groups.
Citizens will also be told to ‘lock their doors’ in the event of a nuclear incident – advice that has already drawn ridicule from commentators.
Despite the alarming content, the French government insists the booklet is not a direct response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Emmanuel Macron has previously warned that Europe must be prepared to confront the ‘Russian threat’ and adapt to the possibility that America could scale back its military support.
Earlier this week, Macron revealed that French fighter jets equipped with new generation hypersonic nuclear missiles will be sent to the German border as part of his bid to renew France‘s airborne nuclear deterrent.
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged France to learn how to respond to an invasion or any other ‘imminent threat’
French soldiers stand in line in front of their military vehicles following a combat simulation during the ”Scorpion Days” manuevers at the French army Canjuers camp, in the Var department, south-eastern France on March 4, 2025
The British government last issued similar guidance during the Cold War with the infamous Protect and Survive booklet, which advised citizens to paint their windows white and build a ‘fallout room’ in the event of nuclear war
Officials from the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN), which oversaw the booklet’s creation, claim the aim of the survival guide is simply to bolster France’s resilience in the face of ‘all types of crises’.
The decision to draft the booklet reportedly dates back to 2022, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as part of a national strategy to improve public preparedness.
But the timing of its release – expected before summer if approved by Prime Minister François Bayrou – has raised eyebrows.
French newspaper Le Figaro noted that the kit’s rollout ‘could easily suggest that the state is reacting to the unstable international situation’.
Macron has recently called for Europe to rearm in the face of Russia‘s aggression in Ukraine and America’s wavering commitment to upholding European security under Donald Trump.
He initiated a doubling of the French defence budget over the course of his two terms and recently set an even higher target, saying the country should increase defence spending to 3-3.5 per cent of economic output from the current 2 per cent.
He has also offered to extend the protection of France’s nuclear weapons, the so-called nuclear umbrella, to other European countries.
During a visit to Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur airbase in northeast France on Tuesday, Macron told aircrews their base will soon receive a squadron of Rafale F5s – the latest evolution of France’s premier fighter jet that is expected to enter service in 2030.
The jets will be equipped with the ASN4G – a nuclear hypersonic cruise missile currently under development that will reportedly fly at more than 5,000mph with double the range of France’s current air-launched nuclear weapons.
Macron said the government had earmarked more than €1.5 billion to transform Luxeuil – a famed World War One airbase just 80km from Germany – into one of the nation’s most advanced military facilities.
Rafale F5s equipped with the next-gen nuclear hypersonic missiles would be ready for deployment at the base by 2035, he said to a crowd of Air Force pilots and officers outside their hangars.
‘We haven’t waited for 2022 or the turning point we’re seeing right now to discover that the world we live in is ever more dangerous, ever more uncertain, and that it implies to innovate, to bulk up and to become more autonomous,’ he said yesterday.
‘I will announce in the coming weeks new investments to go further than what was done over the past seven years,’ he said.
Macron added that the government would order additional Rafale warplanes from French aerospace manufacturer Dassault Aviation to replace ageing Mirage fighter jets – some of which were sent to Ukraine.
Sweden and Finland have already taken similar steps amid growing geopolitical instability.
Last year, Sweden sent out five million copies of a chilling 32-page booklet titled If Crisis or War Comes, advising citizens to stock up on food and water and be ready for an armed attack.
‘An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst – an armed attack,’ its introduction states.
Finland has also launched a government website detailing how to prepare for various crises.
And earlier this month, it was reported that Poland is soon set to send out a guide for its citizens on how to survive future crises, after it warned its male population they would have to go through military training amid rising tensions with Russia.
Sweden’s Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin presents the new version of the booklet ‘If Crisis or War Comes
The country, which borders both Ukraine and Russia, will be sending the pamphlets to households this year.
The booklets will inform them on ‘how to deal with various hazardous situations,’ a deputy director for the interior ministry’s civil protection unit, Robert Klonowski, told the PAP news agency.
But the French booklet has already sparked mockery.
French comedian Matthieu Noël scoffed at the idea of telling people to ‘stock up’ and ‘lock their doors’ if a nuclear bomb hits.
‘Putin could drop a nuclear bomb on Paris, Ebola could strike the Cantal – we’ll be ready,’ he joked on France Inter.
‘While you’re at it, why not advise against snorkelling during a tsunami?’
The UK, meanwhile, has shown no signs of following suit.
The British government last issued similar guidance during the Cold War with the infamous Protect and Survive booklet, which advised citizens to paint their windows white and build a ‘fallout room’ in the event of nuclear war.
A 2004 campaign following the Madrid bombings offered updated advice, but there’s been little movement since.
