diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9061fd67c8ebe345f28fd4f3bc190d667cffbd95..f564c144af9021e9dc67066a32ec2b67594c53c6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ THIS     := monolith
 
 # The version number is automatically set to the current date,
 # unless DATE is defined on the command line.
+# An example of the date format is 20241208.
 DATE     := $(shell /bin/date +%Y%m%d)
 
-# This is used in [make release] to search CHANGES.md.
-# Ideally, it should be derived from $(DATE).
-DATE_WITH_SLASHES := $(shell /bin/date +%Y/%m/%d)
+# The date, with slahes, is used in [make release] to search CHANGES.md.
+# An example is 2024/12/08.
+DATE_WITH_SLASHES := $(shell echo "${DATE}" \
+  | sed -e 's|\([0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]\)\([0-9][0-9]\)\([0-9][0-9]\)|\1/\2/\3|')
 
 # The repository URL (https).
 REPO     := https://gitlab.inria.fr/fpottier/$(THIS)