France’s emergency kit: the « Tous responsables » guide explained

In November 2025 France’s General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN) published « Tous responsables », a national guide that asks every household to be ready for 72 hours. Alongside the usual water, food and radio, it stresses copies of documents, including prescriptions, and spare keys.

The official numbers

• Self-reliance: 72 hours
• Water: no quantity specified

What SGDSN, guide « Tous responsables » recommends

Gear

• Flashlight / torch
• Power bank
• Spare batteries
• Blankets and warm clothing
• Emergency radio
• Multitool / pocket knife

Supplies to buy

• Bottled drinking water
• Long-life food (ready to eat)

To arrange

• Personal medication supply
• Cash in small notes and coins
• Copies of ID and key documents
• Spare house and car keys

What the authorities advise beyond the kit

• Know the siren. Sirens are tested at noon on the first Wednesday of every month. A real alert is a rising and falling tone in three sequences (1 min 41 s in total); the all-clear is a steady 30-second tone.
• In a real alert: get into a building, close doors and windows, and follow the radio (France Inter, ici or franceinfo) and official channels.
• Don’t fetch your children from school. Staff look after them on site, and the roads must stay clear for the emergency services.
• Don’t phone unless someone is hurt, so the networks stay free.
• FR-Alert sends warnings to mobile phones in the affected area. A phone that is off or in flight mode won’t receive them.

Food to keep at home

What the official list says: Non-perishable food that needs no cooking, such as tins, plus baby food and pet food where needed.

General advice from the official food lists:

• Stock food you already eat, and rotate it: use the oldest first and replace it, so nothing expires unnoticed.
• For 72 hours, choose food that keeps at room temperature and can be eaten without cooking: tins, crispbread, dried fruit, nuts, muesli, long-life milk.
• For a week or longer, add dry staples such as rice, pasta, oats and pulses, plus oil, salt and sugar, and a stove to cook on.
• Dry staples need water to cook: count it in your water stock.
• Store food cool, dry and dark, in airtight containers once opened.
• Allow for babies, special diets, allergies and pets.
• Keep a manual can opener, and throw away tins that are swollen, dented or rusty.

Printable 72-hour food list, combined from official lists. Print it or save it as a PDF.

What other governments add

These appear on most of the 12 official lists we compared, but not on this one:

• First aid kit (home) (10 of 12 lists)
• Pet food and water (6 of 12 lists)
• Lighter and waterproof matches (6 of 12 lists)
• Hand sanitiser (6 of 12 lists)

Build your kit

Every item above is in our L1 kit (72 hours). Use the household calculator to get quantities for your household, and download the shopping list for the supplies you’ll buy at the supermarket and pharmacy.

FAQ

How long should an emergency kit last in France? 72 hours, according to SGDSN, guide « Tous responsables ».

Do I need to buy a ready-made kit? No. Building your own from the official list is cheaper and you know what’s in it. Our picks cover the gear; the rest comes from the supermarket.

Source: SGDSN, guide « Tous responsables ». Last reviewed: October 2026.