This is an exceptional postponement, which in no way impacts this monthly ritual. Unlike every first Wednesday of the month, the warning sirens will not sound this Wednesday, May 1, 2024 around noon, as announced by the Ministry of the Interior. However, the exercise is not canceled, but simply postponed. May 1st being a public holiday dedicated to Labor Day, the government felt that a little silence would be appreciated! Indeed, the monthly test of the Population Alert and Information System (SAIP) was exceptionally postponed to the next day, Thursday May 2, 2024, at the same times: that is to say between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., depending on the municipality. So don’t panic, this will not mean the triggering of a real alert, but still of this exercise aimed at verifying the proper functioning of the approximately 2,133 sirens spread across French territory. “There is no reason to worry”, “no shelter instructions from the population are required”thus reassure the prefects of several departments via the social network
What to do in the event of an alert and how to differentiate it from the monthly exercise?
Since 2008, the SAIP has replaced the National Alert Network (RNA) created in the 1950s, after the Second World War. “Its objective is to alert a population exposed, or likely to be exposed, to the consequences of a serious event”, explains the website of the Ministry of the Interior. A “reflex behavior” must then be followed by all citizens: take shelter in a building and listen to a news radio public or local radio to follow government instructions. It may be a confinement, “stop air conditioning, heating and ventilation, block openings” for example, or even an evacuation, depending on the nature of the alert.
But how can we differentiate a simple exercise from a real threat? Because if the danger occurs on a Wednesday, we may wonder how to distinguish the two. In truth, during the monthly test, the sirens only emit a single sequence of one minute and forty-one seconds. The real warning signal consists of three of these sequences, separated by a five-second silence. “The end of the alert is announced by a continuous 30-second signal”, specifies the ministry. And for those living in communities without sirens, an application exists to be warned of any danger. Formerly called SAIP, like the alert system, it is now called “My Security” and is available free of charge on all smartphones.