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Emergency telephone numbers in Paris, Ile de France

Emergency services: the numbers to call for Fire, Police and Ambulance. Also sea rescue, drug help, poisons and emergency doctors and hospitals.

There is no guarantee that any English will be spoken on any of these emergency and helpline telephone numbers. 

 

Service Telephone
Medical help/SAMU 15
Police/Police Nationale 17
Fire & accident/Sapeurs Pompiers 18
SOS - all services (calling from a mobile) 112

The caller must:

  1. State the location where assistance is needed 

  2. State their name and telephone number

  3. State what happened, and if it is still happening 

  4. State how many people need help

  5. State if there are weapons involved

All emergency numbers can be reached from pay phones, without the use of a phone card or money. 

European SOS 112

The number 112 can be dialled to reach emergency services - medical, fire and police - from anywhere in Europe. This Pan-European emergency number 112 can be called from any telephone (landline, pay phone or mobile cellular phone). Calls are free. It can be used for any life-threatening situation, including:

  • Serious medical problems (accident, unconscious person, severe injuries, chest pain, seizure) 

  • Any type of fire (house, car) 

  • Life-threatening situations (crimes)

  • SOS 112 website

Paris Crisis & Help Lines

 
Service Telephone/Contact
Find a hospital (use the map, enter department number and treatment required) Website
24 hour Pharmacy/Chemist/Drugstores in Paris
Find a duty pharmacy Website
Pharmacie Européenne
At
: 6 Place Clichy (Arr 9) Metro: Clichy
Open: 24 hours a day, every day (24/7)
Tel: 01 48 74 65 18
01 42 82 91 04
Les Champs
At: 84 ave des Champs-Elysées (Arr 8)
Open: 24 hours a day, every day (24/7)
Tel: 01 45 62 02 41
Pharmacie Première
At: 24 bd de Sébastopol (Arr 4). Metro: Châtelet
Open: 10:00-02:00
Pharmacie Daumesnil
At: 6 Place Félix Eboué (Arr 12) Metro: Daumesnil
Open: 24 hours a day, every day (24/7)
Tel: 01 43 43 19 03
01 43 43 11 54
Pharmacie des Arts 
At: 106 bd du Montparnasse (Arr 14) Metro: Montparnasse 
Open: Monday to Saturday 10:00-24:00, Sunday 20:00-24:00
Tel: 01 43 35 44 88
Doctors, Dentists & Opticians
SOS Médecins France: After hours medical advice and help from qualified doctors Tel: 36 24
Website
SOS Médecins (Doctor on call): Paris Tel: 01 47 07 77 77
SOS Médecins (Doctor on call): Suburbs 78 Tel: 01 39 58 58 58
SOS Médecins (Doctor on call): Suburbs 91 Tel: 01 64 46 45 10
SOS Médecins (Doctor on call): Suburbs 92 Tel: 01 46 03 77 44
SOS Médecins (Doctor on call): Suburbs 95 Tel: 01 30 40 12 12
SOS Dentaire (Dentist on call): Paris Tel: 01 43 37 51 00
SOS Dentaire (Dentist on call): Suburbs 78 Tel: 01 39 51 21 21
SOS ENT (ear, nose, throat) & Optician (On call) Tel: 01 47 07 64 64
SOS Optique (24 hour glasses/spectacles) Tel: 01 48 07 22 00
SOS Psychiatry  Tel: 01 47 07 24 24
Poison & Burns
Anti-poison: Hôpital Fernand-Widal
At: 200 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis (Arr 10) Metro: La Chapelle, Gare duNord, Gare de l'Est
Tel: 01 40 05 48 48
Burn Centre: children's burns Tel: 01 44 73 62 54
Burn Centre: adult's burns Tel: 01 58 41 26 49
Helplines & Call Centres
SOS Helpline: Crisis calls handled in English. Daily 15:00-23:00 Tel: 01 46 21 46 46
Website
Child Abuse hotline Tel: 119
Website
SOS Missing Children: SOS Enfants Disparus Tel: 116 000
Website
Battered Women: Femmes Info Service Tel: 01 40 33 80 60
Red Cross hotline: Croix Rouge Écoute, general confidential counselling service in French. Open daily 08:00-20:00 Tel: 0800 858 858 
Alcohol hotline: Écoute Alcool, confidential advice and help in French. Open daily 14:00-02:00 Tel: 0811 91 30 30 
Cannabis hotline: Écoute Cannabis, confidential advice and help in French  Tel: 0811 91 20 20 
Drug abuse helpline: Drogues Info Service, confidential advice and help in French. Open daily 08:00-02:00. Tel: 0800 23 13 13 
Tel: 01 70 23 13 13 (from a mobile)
HIV/AIDS information: SIDA Info HIV and AIDS advice in French Tel: 0800 840 800 

Emergency Words & Terminology

Please note: these phrases have been simplified for easy communication by a non-French speaker. They are not necessarily grammatically correct French.

English French
Accident Un accident
I have had an accident J'ai eu un accident
Injured Blessé(e)
Unconscious Perdre connaissance
Bleeding Hémorragie
Heart attack Crise cardiaque
Stroke AVC (Un accident vasculaire cérébral)
Drowning noyade (se noyer)
Burn Brulure
Very sick  Très malade
In labour/having contractions Avoir contractions 
I am in labour Je suis en train d'accoucher
Need a doctor  Besoin un médécin (Il me faut un médécin)
Need an ambulance  Besoin une ambulance (Il me faut une ambulance)
Fire Feu
The house is on fire La maison a pris feu
The car is on fire La voiture a pris feu
I am being burgled Je suis en train de me faire cambrioler
Someone is in the house Quelqu'un est chez moi (Quelqu'un est entré par effraction chez moi)
Emergency Une urgence
Help me Aidez moi
Help! Au secours
Understanding the French Emergency Services
  • In the event of an emergency dial the appropriate number: medical (SAMU) 15, police 17, fire and accident 18 or the Pan-European number 112
  • Explain the situation to the operator (English may be spoken but there is no guarantee). Calls to 112 are received by either SAMU or the fire brigade and then instantly rerouted to the appropriate service or handled on the spot

The services reached by dialling 15 and 18 operate in conjunction, with the emergency teams having skills, training and facilities suitable to many situations. "Firefighters" are qualified to provide first rescue and ambulance services.

Medical emergencies and accidents (SAMU)

SAMU: The Emergency Medical Assistance Service (Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence) reached by dialling 15 or 112. 

There is always a qualified doctor on hand to determine the most suitable response to a call and implement it. This may involve giving the caller information or advice, or sending the appropriate emergency vehicle: 

  • an ambulance for a street accident or home emergency
  • a private ambulance
  • a mobile resuscitation or intensive care vehicle or medical helicopter

SMUR: The mobile emergency resuscitation service (Service Mobile d'Urgence et de Réanimation, SMUR) vehicles are equipped with at least one qualified emergency doctor (or an anaesthetist), a nurse and a paramedic.

H-MICU: In the case of serious accident or severe illness a Hospital Mobile Intensive Care Unit (H-MICU), (UMH-Unité Mobile Hospitalière) is sent. This is a rapid intervention vehicle or helicopter equipped to provide full hospital-standard life support services.

The French approach is to treat the emergency on-site and vehicles and personnel are equipped and trained for this. The reason is that recovery rates are found to be much higher when a victim is treated as soon as possible. 

  • SAMU de France has an English-language website: Click here
  • For comprehensive information on how SAMU works: Click here

Sapeurs-pompiers (firefighters and first rescue)

The sapeurs-pompiers are the firefighters of France, supervised and trained by the Ministry of the Interior (Ministère de l'Intérieur). Firefighting brigades work closely with SAMU and are trained and equipped to respond to fires, auto accidents and emergency medical situations. They include professional (SPP), military (SPM) and volunteer (SVP) brigades.

  • More information from the Pompiers website: Click here

Emergency siren

Nationwide, every first Wednesday of the month at noon (12:00), the emergency sirens which operate nationwide are tested. The sirens can be heard wailing as the are tested in three sequences of 1 minute 41 seconds each, separated by a silence of five seconds. 

  • To find out what to do in the event of a hearing a siren alert that is not the Wednesday test: Click here
Understanding the French Police Services

National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale): The military police force operating under management by the French Ministry of Defence (Ministère de la Défense). It is responsible for policing the countryside, rivers and coastal areas, and small towns which fall outside the jurisdiction of the Police Nationale. The force is also authorised to carry out criminal investigations, crowd control and security activities of airports and military locations and attend ceremonial and state occasions. 

National Police (Police Nationale): The civil law enforcement agency of France, with jurisdiction over cities and large towns. The National Police comes under the management of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministère de l'Intérieur) and is responsible for security operations (patrols, traffic control, identity checks) and conducting criminal enquiries.  

Local Municipal Police (Police Municipale): Responsible for local policing in towns and villages, law enforcement, lost property and handling minor traffic or domestic offences. 

Further Information

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