French hospitals ‘told to prepare for war in Europe by next year’

Hospitals are being warned to prepare before March next year (Picture: AFP)

French hospitals have been given a sobering warning: prepare for a ‘major military engagement’ by March 2026.

Satirical weekly paper Le Canard enchaîné broke the news, but Health Minister Catherine Vautrin later confirmed the information.

A letter sent by the French Health Ministry in July said hospitals needed to be prepared by March 2026 for a potential ‘major military deployment’.

It added that hospitals needed to be prepped to treat both wounded French and foreign soldiers, and be able to care for 10,000 to 15,000 men for up to 180 days.

Vautrin said: ‘It is perfectly normal for the country to anticipate crises and their consequences. This is part of anticipation, just like strategic stockpiling.

‘I was not yet in office when Covid-19 broke out, but let’s not forget that at the time we were at a loss for words to describe how unprepared the country was.’

French Minister of Labour, Health, Solidarities and Families Catherine Vautrin said the letter was for preparedness (Picture: Reuters)

The planning letter also mentioned planning medical staging areas near ports and airports so soldiers can be moved quickly.

The war preparedness comes just a few months after France issued ‘survival guides’.

The 20-page manual contains 63 measures on how the French can protect themselves from armed conflict, natural disasters, industrial accidents and nuclear leaks.

It also includes the essentials needed in these scenarios, like six litres of water, canned food, batteries, a torch, paracetamol and bandages.

But the French government was insistent that it was not being released because of the looming threat of Vladimir Putin.

France previously warned its citizens to have survival kits (Picture: AFP)

Instead, it says the manual has been in the works since 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic, to prepare the country for a similar type of scenario.

The General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN), which is behind the creation of the manual, said it will help people face ‘all types of crises’.

However, it offers advice about what to do in a nuclear attack (advising citizens to lock their doors) and tells them the best way to join local defence forces if an attack is imminent.

French newspaper Le Figaro reported the release could suggest France is ‘reacting to the unstable international situation’.

Like the UK, France has also increased its defence spending, increasing to 3-3.5% of economic output from the current 2%.

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