France’s Invasion Guide: Surviving A Nuclear Attack

France is set to issue a survival manual to homes nationwide, warning citizens how to respond to an invasion or any other ‘imminent threat’.

The surprising move comes as tensions grow in Europe and fears rise over Russia’s confrontational tactics.

The new 20-page booklet, reportedly packed with 63 measures, will inform the French on how to defend themselves and their families in the event of armed conflict, natural catastrophes, industrial accidents or even a nuclear leak.

It will include information on constructing a ‘survival kit’ with essentials including six litres of water, canned food, batteries, a torch and basic medical supplies such as paracetamol and bandages.

Importantly, it will guide what to do in the event of an impending assault, including how to participate in local defensive initiatives by joining firefighting or reserve forces.

Citizens will also be told to ‘lock their doors’ in the event of a nuclear incident  –  advice that has already drawn ridicule from commentators.

The French government maintains that the pamphlet is not a direct reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite its concerning content.

President Emmanuel Macron has previously warned that Europe must be equipped to face the ‘Russian threat’ and adapt to the possibility that America could scale back its military aid.

Earlier this week, Macron announced 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.

Officials from the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN), which oversaw the booklet’s creation, claim the purpose of the survival guide is just to support France’s strength 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 uncertain commitment to upholding European security under Donald Trump.

He initiated a doubling of the French defence budget over his two terms and recently set an even higher target, saying the country should increase defence spending to 3-3.5 percent of economic output from the current 2 percent. 

France’s public investment bank Bpifrance will launch a €450 million (£377 million) fund dedicated to funding defence projects as part of the country’s efforts to ramp up military spending, finance minister Eric Lombard said on Thursday.

‘French citizens will be able, by tranches of €500 (£419), to invest their money in the long term,’ Lombard told TF1.

According to the finance and defence ministries, French defence industries would require more than five billion euros in extra equity capital over the next years.

Macron has also offered to extend the safety 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, he 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 5,000 mph 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 renowned World War One airbase just 80km from Germany – into one of the nation’s most cutting-edge military facilities.

Rafale F5s equipped with the next-gen nuclear hypersonic missiles would be equipped 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 Tuesday.

‘I will announce in the coming weeks new investments to go further than what was done over the past seven years,’ he added.

Macron also said 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.

Earlier this month, it was said that Poland would soon send out a handbook for its citizens on how to survive forthcoming crises after it warned its male population would have to go through military training amid growing tensions with Russia.

This year, the nation, which shares borders with Russia and Ukraine, will distribute the pamphlets to households.

The pamphlets will advise 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.

Civilians will be given wartime information on how to cope with ‘a power outage lasting several days or several hours,’ he said, adding that the information would also serve for reacting to natural disasters.

The brochure will be issued in Polish and Ukrainian for the 900,000 Ukrainian refugees in the country.

‘We are also planning a special version, or at least part of this guide, addressed to children,’ Klonowski added.

Poland is one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies in the European Union and hosts a logistics hub through which NATO and EU member states have been sending military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

It has been warily eyeing Russia and has been ramping up its defences, as Vladimir Putin’s aggression rages on.

Poland has been making overtures towards a war footing in recent weeks, with the country’s prime minister Donald Tusk revealing that his government is working out a strategy to militarily train all men in the event of a war. 

Sweden, Norway and Finland have already taken similar measures 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.

Norway’s directorate for civil protection distributed a similar guide last year, warning its citizens: ‘We live in an increasingly turbulent world.’

The Norwegian booklet urges citizens to keep stock of medicine, a supply of cash, and at least a week’s worth of non-perishable food items including ‘crispbreads, canned pulses and beans, canned sandwich spreads, energy bars, dried fruit, chocolate, honey, biscuits and nuts’.

Finland has also launched a government website describing how to prepare for various ‘longer-term crises’ including ‘military conflict’.

Germany made a similar announcement in November, saying it was creating a list of bunkers that would be able to offer residents emergency refuge in the case of conflict.

The Interior Ministry announced underground train stations, car parks, state buildings and private properties could all be harnessed for protection.

The French survival guide has already provoked mockery despite all the preparations made by other European nations.

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 notorious Protect and Survive booklet, which urged 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 guidance, but there’s been little activity since.

Is this all fear-mongering rhetoric – are we going to war? Or is this just politics and nothing else? Perhaps we simply need protecting from our own governments.

Sorry, but when the poo does hit the fan, it will be everybody for themselves as demonstrated by the UK toilet roll shortage during COVID. Can you even imagine what it would be like if there was a real war?