diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 90f5d30..d133b67 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/)
 ### Changed
 - 2026-05-26 — `make update-mitre` upgraded from no-op placeholder to a real `curl` + optional container restart (Sprint 1 marker resolved).
 - 2026-05-26 — `EngagementDetailPage` no longer renders the "Simulations à venir au Sprint 2" placeholder; it embeds `<SimulationList>` instead.
+- 2026-05-26 — Makefile now auto-detects the container engine (`CONTAINER_CMD ?= docker || podman`) instead of hard-coding `docker`. Override with `make <target> CONTAINER_CMD=podman` or `export CONTAINER_CMD=…`. The matching e2e tests (`us1`, `us6`) were updated to mirror the same detection so they pass on podman-only machines without an explicit `MIMIC_CONTAINER_CMD` export.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 10f4e8e..e701465 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,16 +3,20 @@ IMAGE ?= mimic:latest
 CONTAINER ?= mimic
 VOLUME ?= mimic-data
 
+# Container engine: auto-detect docker first, fall back to podman.
+# Override explicitly with `make <target> CONTAINER_CMD=podman` or `export CONTAINER_CMD=podman`.
+CONTAINER_CMD ?= $(shell if command -v docker >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo docker; else echo podman; fi)
+
 .PHONY: build start stop restart update logs create-admin update-mitre test-backend test-frontend test-e2e clean
 
 build:
-	docker build -f docker/Dockerfile -t $(IMAGE) .
+	$(CONTAINER_CMD) build -f docker/Dockerfile -t $(IMAGE) .
 
 start:
-	docker run -d --name $(CONTAINER) -p $(PORT):5000 -v $(VOLUME):/data --env-file .env $(IMAGE)
+	$(CONTAINER_CMD) run -d --name $(CONTAINER) -p $(PORT):5000 -v $(VOLUME):/data --env-file .env $(IMAGE)
 
 stop:
-	docker stop $(CONTAINER) && docker rm $(CONTAINER)
+	$(CONTAINER_CMD) stop $(CONTAINER) && $(CONTAINER_CMD) rm $(CONTAINER)
 
 restart:
 	$(MAKE) stop && $(MAKE) start
@@ -21,7 +25,7 @@ update:
 	git pull && $(MAKE) build && $(MAKE) restart
 
 logs:
-	docker logs -f $(CONTAINER)
+	$(CONTAINER_CMD) logs -f $(CONTAINER)
 
 create-admin:
 ifndef USER
@@ -30,7 +34,7 @@ endif
 ifndef PASS
 	$(error PASS is required: make create-admin USER=alice PASS=p4ssw0rd)
 endif
-	docker exec $(CONTAINER) flask create-admin $(USER) $(PASS)
+	$(CONTAINER_CMD) exec $(CONTAINER) flask create-admin $(USER) $(PASS)
 
 MITRE_URL ?= https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mitre/cti/master/enterprise-attack/enterprise-attack.json
 
@@ -38,13 +42,13 @@ update-mitre:
 	@mkdir -p backend/data/mitre
 	@curl -fsSL "$(MITRE_URL)" -o backend/data/mitre/enterprise-attack.json
 	@echo "MITRE bundle updated"
-	@if docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^$(CONTAINER)$$"; then \
+	@if $(CONTAINER_CMD) ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^$(CONTAINER)$$"; then \
 		echo "Restarting $(CONTAINER) to reload MITRE bundle..."; \
-		docker restart $(CONTAINER); \
+		$(CONTAINER_CMD) restart $(CONTAINER); \
 	fi
 
 test-backend:
-	docker exec $(CONTAINER) pytest -q backend/tests/
+	$(CONTAINER_CMD) exec $(CONTAINER) pytest -q backend/tests/
 
 test-frontend:
 	cd frontend && npm run test -- --run
@@ -53,6 +57,6 @@ test-e2e:
 	cd e2e && npx playwright test
 
 clean:
-	-docker rm -f $(CONTAINER) 2>/dev/null
-	-docker volume rm $(VOLUME) 2>/dev/null
+	-$(CONTAINER_CMD) rm -f $(CONTAINER) 2>/dev/null
+	-$(CONTAINER_CMD) volume rm $(VOLUME) 2>/dev/null
 	rm -rf backend/__pycache__ frontend/node_modules frontend/dist
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 62ea2c7..e9dd2cc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ mimic/
 
 | Target | What it does |
 |---|---|
-| `make build` | Build the `mimic:latest` Docker image (multistage: Node → Python) |
+| `make build` | Build the `mimic:latest` container image (multistage: Node → Python). Uses `docker` if installed, otherwise `podman` — override with `make build CONTAINER_CMD=podman` |
 | `make start` | Start the container (port from `PORT`, default 5000; mounts `mimic-data` volume) |
 | `make stop` | Stop and remove the container |
 | `make restart` | `make stop && make start` — preserves the SQLite volume |
diff --git a/e2e/tests/us1-bootstrap-admin.spec.ts b/e2e/tests/us1-bootstrap-admin.spec.ts
index 785bfc1..9162336 100644
--- a/e2e/tests/us1-bootstrap-admin.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/tests/us1-bootstrap-admin.spec.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,15 @@ import { adminToken, deleteUserByUsername, login, makeClient } from '../fixtures
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
-const RUNTIME = process.env.MIMIC_CONTAINER_CMD ?? 'docker';
+function detectRuntime(): string {
+  try {
+    execSync('command -v docker', { stdio: 'ignore' });
+    return 'docker';
+  } catch {
+    return 'podman';
+  }
+}
+const RUNTIME = process.env.MIMIC_CONTAINER_CMD ?? detectRuntime();
 const CONTAINER = process.env.MIMIC_CONTAINER ?? 'mimic';
 
 function runCreateAdmin(user: string, pass: string): {
@@ -100,10 +108,11 @@ test.describe('US-1 — bootstrap first admin', () => {
     const token = await adminToken();
     expect(token).toBeTruthy();
 
-    // Defence-in-depth: assert the Makefile target literally invokes
-    // `docker exec … flask create-admin`. This is a contract check.
+    // Defence-in-depth: assert the Makefile target wraps an `exec … flask create-admin`
+    // through the container engine. Sprint 2 made the engine configurable via
+    // $(CONTAINER_CMD) (auto-detects docker or podman), so we assert the variable form.
     const makefilePath = resolve(__dirname, '../..', 'Makefile');
     const content = readFileSync(makefilePath, 'utf8');
-    expect(content).toMatch(/docker exec .+ flask create-admin/);
+    expect(content).toMatch(/\$\(CONTAINER_CMD\) exec .+ flask create-admin/);
   });
 });
diff --git a/e2e/tests/us6-deployment.spec.ts b/e2e/tests/us6-deployment.spec.ts
index eec1aa5..a068ff0 100644
--- a/e2e/tests/us6-deployment.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/tests/us6-deployment.spec.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,15 @@ import {
   waitForHealth,
 } from '../fixtures/api';
 
-const RUNTIME = process.env.MIMIC_CONTAINER_CMD ?? 'docker';
+function detectRuntime(): string {
+  try {
+    execSync('command -v docker', { stdio: 'ignore' });
+    return 'docker';
+  } catch {
+    return 'podman';
+  }
+}
+const RUNTIME = process.env.MIMIC_CONTAINER_CMD ?? detectRuntime();
 const CONTAINER = process.env.MIMIC_CONTAINER ?? 'mimic';
 const IMAGE = process.env.MIMIC_IMAGE ?? 'mimic:latest';
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));