The French public is set to receive a chilling manual warning them how to survive to World War III.
The booklet, which contains 63 measures among its 20 pages, tells the French how to protect themselves and their loved ones in a number of terrifying situations, including armed conflict, a nuclear leak, and natural disasters.
Five key tips have already been released ahead of the manual’s potential publication this summer. The first advises citizens to put together a survival kit containing six litres of water, basic medical supplies, tinned food, batteries and a torch to withstand some of the horror situations.
Next the French are told how to respond in the event of an imminent attack. These include how they can sign up for local defence outfits and firefighting crews.
And should a nuclear incident be on the cards, citizens are told to “lock their doors” – a measure that’s already been mocked by people on social media.
There will also be a list of emergency numbers for people to call for a host of different nightmare scenarios, and radio channels for people to patch in to in the event of a media or internet blackout.
It comes as tensions continue to soar between Paris, and the rest of Europe, and Moscow over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But France has insisted its not related to the current situation.
The General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN) oversaw the creation of the booklet, and reportedly hatched the idea for it back in 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic as a strategy to improve public preparedness. It still has to be approved by Prime Minister François Bayrou if it’s to be released before summer.
According to French daily Le Figaro, its publication “could easily suggest that the state is reacting to the unstable international situation”. It isn’t an unprecedented move, with Sweden and Finland having already published their own versions.
Sweden distributed a 32-page booklet entitled If Crisis of War Comes and circulated five million of them. It told households to store food and water so they’re ready if conflict comes knocking. Meanwhile, Finland put up a government website explaining how people should prepare for a number of catastrophes.
“An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst – an armed attack,” the Swedish book states in its introduction.
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