diff --git a/chart/templates/deployment.yaml b/chart/templates/deployment.yaml
index 0a787c5..f32cb7f 100644
--- a/chart/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/chart/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -26,6 +26,30 @@ spec:
       securityContext:
         {{- toYaml .Values.podSecurityContext | nindent 8 }}
       containers:
+        {{- if and .Values.nfs.enabled .Values.nfs.softFail }}
+        - name: nfs-mounter
+          image: alpine:3.20
+          securityContext:
+            capabilities:
+              add:
+                - SYS_ADMIN
+          command:
+            - /bin/sh
+            - -c
+            - |
+              apk add --no-cache nfs-utils 2>/dev/null || { echo "Cannot install nfs-utils, skipping NFS mount."; exec sleep infinity; }
+              echo "Attempting NFS mount {{ .Values.nfs.server }}:{{ .Values.nfs.path }}..."
+              if timeout 30 mount -t nfs -o timeo=10,soft,retrans=2 {{ .Values.nfs.server }}:{{ .Values.nfs.path }} /mnt/shared; then
+                echo "NFS mounted successfully. Files are served directly from NFS."
+              else
+                echo "NFS mount failed or timed out, continuing with empty directory."
+              fi
+              exec sleep infinity
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: public-files
+              mountPath: /mnt/shared
+              mountPropagation: Bidirectional
+        {{- end }}
         - name: {{ .Chart.Name }}
           securityContext:
             {{- toYaml .Values.securityContext | nindent 12 }}
@@ -58,12 +82,19 @@ spec:
           volumeMounts:
             - name: public-files
               mountPath: {{ .Values.nfs.mountPath }}
+              {{- if .Values.nfs.softFail }}
+              mountPropagation: HostToContainer
+              {{- end }}
           {{- end }}
-      {{- if .Values.nfs.enabled }}
+      {{- if and .Values.nfs.enabled (not .Values.nfs.softFail) }}
       volumes:
         - name: public-files
           persistentVolumeClaim:
             claimName: {{ include "vhaudiquet-fr.fullname" . }}-public
+      {{- else if and .Values.nfs.enabled .Values.nfs.softFail }}
+      volumes:
+        - name: public-files
+          emptyDir: {}
       {{- end }}
       {{- with .Values.nodeSelector }}
       nodeSelector:
diff --git a/chart/templates/persistentvolume.yaml b/chart/templates/persistentvolume.yaml
index 7d67172..d78ca87 100644
--- a/chart/templates/persistentvolume.yaml
+++ b/chart/templates/persistentvolume.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{- if .Values.nfs.enabled -}}
+{{- if and .Values.nfs.enabled (not .Values.nfs.softFail) -}}
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: PersistentVolume
 metadata:
diff --git a/chart/templates/persistentvolumeclaim.yaml b/chart/templates/persistentvolumeclaim.yaml
index 861bb53..ef8c264 100644
--- a/chart/templates/persistentvolumeclaim.yaml
+++ b/chart/templates/persistentvolumeclaim.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{- if .Values.nfs.enabled -}}
+{{- if and .Values.nfs.enabled (not .Values.nfs.softFail) -}}
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
 metadata:
diff --git a/chart/values.yaml b/chart/values.yaml
index 2e56ae7..0672db4 100644
--- a/chart/values.yaml
+++ b/chart/values.yaml
@@ -104,3 +104,10 @@ nfs:
   storageSize: 10Gi
   # Storage class name (leave empty for default)
   storageClassName: ""
+  # When true, use a sidecar container with mount propagation instead of PV/PVC
+  # so the pod can still start if the NFS server is unreachable. The sidecar
+  # will attempt to mount NFS directly into the shared volume; if it fails the
+  # app runs with an empty public directory. Files are served directly from NFS
+  # (no copying), making this suitable for large volumes.
+  # Requires: SYS_ADMIN capability on the sidecar, mountPropagation support.
+  softFail: false