France issues its citizens with an invasion guide - including how to survive a nuclear attack - after Macron warned Europe must prepare for war

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.

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 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 reported that Poland will soon 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. 

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.

Civilians will be given wartime tips 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 in Ukrainian for the some 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 aid to Ukraine.

It has been warily eyeing Russia and been ramping up its defences, as Vladimir Putin's invasion 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 system to militarily train all men in the event of a war. 

Sweden, Norway 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. 

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

The Norwegian pamphlet advises 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 detailing how to prepare for various 'longer-term crises' including 'military conflict'.

In a similar move, Germany announced last November that it was drawing up a list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter to civilians in the event of war.

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

Despite all the preparations by other European nations, the French survival 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.