France orders hospitals to be 'ready for war' as Germany issues stark warning

Hospitals in France have reportedly been told to begin preparing for a 'major military engagement' on the continent.

2025 has sure shaped up to be a year which is synonymous with sabre-rattling over the prospect of an all-out war in Europe.

So far, we've had NATO's Mark Rutte telling us we either need to start arming ourselves to the teeth or learn Russian, the German government telling teachers to start preparing children for war, and the EU wants people to start stockpiling items for a '72-hour survival kit' should things go south.

Now, France has decided to wade into war planning, with reports stating the French Health Ministry sent a letter to hospitals across the nation to begin preparing for a 'major military deployment', which set March 2026 as a deadline.

The reports were confirmed by French health minister Catherine Vautrin (Ameer Alhalbi/Getty Images)

The news originated from French language outlet Le Canard enchaîné, which revealed that a letter had been sent to hospitals from Minister Catherine Vautrin ordering them to be prepared to treat foreign and French wounded soldiers.

There was a healthy amount of scepticism following the report, due to the fact that Le Canard enchaîné is known to be a satirical outlet; however, the letter has since been confirmed as genuine by Vautrin.

The planning letter is also said to have included creating medical staging areas near ports and airports, allowing soldiers to be transported quickly.

Now, before anyone thinks that global war is a mere 180 days away and starts freaking out or building fallout shelters at the bottom of their garden, Vautrin has been quick to stress that the measures are part of hypothetical disaster planning measures.

"It is perfectly normal for the country to anticipate crises and their consequences. This is part of anticipation, just like strategic stockpiling," Vautrin said in a TV interview on the topic.

The reports come as Russia and Belarus are planning joint Zapad drills (Russian Ministry of Defense/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"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."

The warning follows Carsten Breuer, Germany's chief of defence, informing NATO that his nation would be 'on guard' ahead of Russia's upcoming military drills.

Joint Zapad 2025 drills are set to take place between Russia and Belarus from 12 to 16 September. The drills will be held in Belarus, which shares borders with NATO states Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.

"We don't have any indication that preparations for an attack are taken under the cover of the exercise," Breuer said of the drills (via The Guardian)

"But we will be on our guard, not just the German forces, but NATO."