What emergency numbers to contact in France?
Witness or victim of an accident in France? You want to contact the relevant department but do not know - or no longer know - the emergency number? Here is a reminder of the 7 main French emergency numbers, to remember before any trip to France.
Have you ever been the victim or witness of an accident while traveling and not knowing who to call? Or not remembering the number? Unfortunately, this is a situation that is all too common and can easily be avoided! At ZappTax, we want your stay in France to go as smoothly as possible. We have listed below the 7 important numbers to keep in mind during your next visit (hoping that you do not have to call them).
⚠️ Before anything else, you should know what information to provide to emergency services when you contact them. First, introduce yourself: specify if you were a witness or victim of an accident, give your full name and phone number if requested. Provide the address of where you stand to facilitate emergency response. Then state the reasons for your call. Follow the advice that is provided and do not hesitate to ask questions.
112 – European emergency telephone number🇪🇺
If you need to remember just one number, it would be this one. Any problem requiring the intervention of any emergency service in a country of the European Union can be notified by calling 112. This number can be reached from anywhere in Europe and will liaise with the emergency services of the country where you are currently travelling.
15 – SAMU call number🚑
The 15, the French number for the SAMU medical emergency service, must be contacted when you or a person around you are in need of urgent medical treatment (i.e. cases of coma, hemorrhage, chest pain, difficulty breathing, burns, poisoning, etc.).
17 – Police and gendarmerie phone number🚓
The French number 17, the police and gendarmerie services, must be contacted when you are a victim of or witness to a danger involving violence, an assault, or in the event of theft or burglary.
18 – Fire brigade call number🚒
18, the French fire brigade number, must be contacted in the event of fire, gas leaks, risk of collapse, burial, burns, electrocution, traffic accidents. For any medical urgency, it is recommended to call the SAMU (15) instead of the fire brigade.
196 – Emergency at sea call number🛥️
196, the French number for sea rescue services, must be contacted when you are a witness to or victim of a distress or emergency situation at sea.
191 – Aeronautical emergency call number🛫
191, the French aeronautical emergency call number, can be used by any user in a situation of distress, by any direct witness of an aircraft accident, or by any person worried about the disappearance of an aircraft and its occupants.
114 – Emergency number via SMS for the deaf and hearing-impaired🔇
Any deaf or hearing-impaired person, victim of or witness to an emergency situation can write an SMS to the attention of the emergency services via 114.
If you plan to travel to France (shortly or a little later) and do not know these emergency numbers, it is important for you to make them your own before your arrival so that you can react as quickly as possible to emergencies that may arise during your stay.
Our advice: add these numbers to your contacts to have them handy when needed! But above all, be careful.
