Vladimir Putin did not invade France, however the war in Ukraine makes some French people fear the worst. The anxiety-provoking climate and especially the nuclear risk push families to prepare to barricade themselves in the event that the conflict escalates. A phenomenon already observed several decades ago in the United States, where residents were convinced that the Cold War would end in radioactive chaos. Several thousand of them had therefore built, at the time, a bunker supposed to withstand cataclysmic events.
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On the other hand, this protective reflex is much less common in France. The country has 1,000 bunkers, including 600 military and 400 private, according to Artemis Protection, manufacturer of fallout shelters. The market is limited to public orders or specialized companies. But it seems that the war in Ukraine has awakened in some people the desire to build a shelter in addition to their accommodation, reports BFM Business. “We have just recorded 4 orders in 15 days and more than 360 requests for information», confirms to Figaro Enzo Petrone, boss of Amesis Construction.
The Franco-Swiss company, whose main customers are the Directorate General for Armaments, Airbus and Engie, has been offering, since 2012 in France, anti-atomic reinforced concrete shelters for “to respond to the apprehensions of the population» and face the «atomic, nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical accidents, explosions or bombings“. Their surface? From 14 m², model which can accommodate 6 people, and up to 2000 m². These bunkers, which can be delivered in 2-3 months, are equipped with a ventilation system, bunk beds, dry toilets and armored doors and windows. Without options, the 14 m² model is sold for 86,000 euros each. That is more than 6100 euros per m²!
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Count 280,000 euros if you opt for a 26 m² bunker, the model currently most in demand (see below), including drinking water and a generator (127,000 euros without option). That is more than 10,700 euros per m². The equivalent of the price of a Parisian apartment! “Some customers ask us to install screens on the walls to broadcast outdoor images (forest, seaside…) or on the ceiling to simulate the sky“says Enzo Petrone. History to forget the tense context and to have the impression of living in a more relaxing atmosphere.
Worried about a nuclear risk
But who are these anxious French people? “They are fathers who are first worried about climate change and then about the conflict in Ukraine which, according to them, could degenerate. They fear a nuclear risk and a Russian invasion“says Enzo Petrone. “We have retirees, doctors, soldiers and even diplomats and members of ministerial cabinets“, assures Mathieu Séranne, director of Artemis Protection, quoted by BFM. Launched in January 2021, this start-up sells prefabricated models (from 6.5 to 50 m²) with a metal structure and says it has received around ten orders over the past week.
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Of course, these constructions require having received a permit from the town hall. Offenders risk having the same problems as this German who had built an atomic shelter in 2014 under his house, by “fearof an attack from Russia. “He built it all, all by himself“, had declared the Bavarian police. It must also be said that the owner had dozens of weapons, some 20,000 munitions and 40 kilos of materials for making explosives in his cellar.
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