France's kit d'urgence: what to store for 72 hours
France's national security secretariat (SGDSN) published the guide 'Tous responsables' in November 2025. It asks households to prepare a 72-hour emergency kit, because emergency services may be overwhelmed at first. Store 6 litres of water per person and food that keeps without cooking.
What this means for your household
Set your household size to see the days, water and food the France advice adds up to.
A 72-hour emergency kit for the period when emergency services may be overwhelmed.
Drinking water for 2 people. Official figure: 6 L of bottled water per person.
Person-days of food to cover (2 × 3). Pick food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking.
What goes in a kit d'urgence
From the SGDSN guide 'Tous responsables'.
- Water: 6 L per person in the home (18 L for three people)
- Food that keeps and needs no cooking
- Your medicines
- A battery radio
- A torch
- Photocopies of essential documents
- Check the kit's contents and dates twice a year
How France warns you
- FR-Alert sends a message to your phone if there is danger near you. The government, the prefecture or the town hall also give instructions on radio, TV and official channels.
- Sirens are tested on the first Wednesday of every month.
- A real alert is three sounds of 1 minute 41 seconds each, with 5 seconds of silence between them. A continuous 30-second tone means the alert is over.
- When the siren sounds, get indoors and listen to the radio for instructions.
France-specific steps
- Download or order the guide 'Tous responsables' from the SGDSN or the Interior Ministry. An easy-read (FALC) version is also available.
- Learn the siren pattern so you can tell a monthly test from a real alert.
- Don't go to collect children from school during an alert. Schools have their own safety plans.
- Keep your kit somewhere easy to reach and tell everyone at home where it is.
Go beyond the minimum: what we recommend
Official lists cover the basics. These are the gaps we see most often when an emergency lasts longer than expected.
- Build toward 7 days of water and food, even if the official minimum is 3. Outages often last longer than planned.
- Keep paper and digital copies of IDs, insurance and prescriptions, so you can prove who you are and get medicines.
- Write the expiry date on everything and check the kit every 6 months, so it doesn't quietly go out of date.
- Plan for phone power: a charged power bank, plus a solar panel or car charger for longer outages.
- Save offline maps of your area and agree a meeting point, in case the mobile network is down.
- An offline survival guide on your phone: HAVEN tracks your kit and expiry dates and works with no signal.Download HAVEN free
Numbers to write down
- 15 · Medical emergency (SAMU)
- 17 · Police
- 18 · Fire brigade
- 112 · European emergency number
Keep a paper copy: your phone may be flat when you need it.
Your kit, ready when the network isn't
HAVEN turns your kit d'urgence into a tracked list with twice-yearly expiry reminders, and keeps offline guides on your phone when the network is down.
- Coverage in days for your household
- Expiry reminders
- Offline guides and AI
- Free to start, no account needed
How France compares
France: 3 days. Across the 25 governments we checked, most ask for 3 days, a growing group asks for a week, and Austria asks for the most, at 10 to 14 days. See every country's advice.
France preparedness FAQ
How many days of supplies does France recommend?
72 hours. The 'Tous responsables' guide asks households to be able to manage for the first three days, when emergency services may be overwhelmed.
How much water goes in a French emergency kit?
6 litres per person in the home. For three people that is 18 litres.
When are French sirens tested?
On the first Wednesday of every month.
What does a real French siren alert sound like?
Three sounds of 1 minute 41 seconds each, separated by 5 seconds of silence. The end of the alert is a continuous 30-second tone.
What is FR-Alert?
France's phone alert system. It sends a message to phones in an area where there is a danger nearby, with instructions to follow.
Official sources
- Guide 'Tous responsables' (SGDSN)
- Guide 'Tous responsables' (PDF)
- Guide 'Tous responsables', easy-read version (PDF)
- Guide 'Tous responsables' (Ministère de l'Intérieur)
This page summarises official advice and is not a substitute for it. Always follow the instructions of your local emergency services. Last checked 2 November 2026.