Ben Pawlowski
FRENCH hospitals have been put on a war footing after a letter sent by the country’s health ministry warned of the possibility of an all-out conflict with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Health bosses across France have been ordered to brace for a ‘major engagement’ by March 2026, according to documents obtained by Le Canard Enchaine.
Officials believe France would become a hub for wounded soldiers and civilians if Europe descends into full-scale war – and authorities are eager to ensure its hospitals are ready.
The order aims to ‘anticipate, prepare and respond to the health needs of the population while integrating the specific needs of defence in the health field,’ according to French media.
The letter adds: “Among the risks identified, therefore, is the hypothesis of a major engagement where the health issue would consist of taking care of a potentially high influx of victims from abroad.
“It is therefore a question of our health system of anticipating the care of military patients in the civilian health system.”
The move comes as Russia and Belarus prepare to launch Zapad drills between September 12 and September 16.
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The joint strategic military exercise will be the first of its kind since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – and Western allies will be on alert amid fears Putin and his generals could use the drills to covertly launch an attack on NATO’s eastern flank.
Under NATO’s Article 5, any attack on an alliance member is an attack on all – with the UK, France and Spain all likely dragged into a regional clash.
Baltic states including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are all members of the alliance, which Spain joined in 1982, seven years after the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
Such a chain reaction would almost certainly lead to a bloody, outright war with Russia – with tens of thousands of casualties across the continent.
Germany’s top general recently confirmed NATO would be on high alert during Russia’s Zapad war games, but added: “We don’t have any indication that preparations for an attack are taken under the cover of the exercise.
“But we will be on our guard, not just the German forces, but NATO.”
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