EENA WELCOMES PRESIDENT MACRON’S COMMENTS

On 6 October 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed civil protection professionals to thank them for their work on the recent fires & hurricane in the French territory. In this context, he set out his vision for the future of emergency services & the safety of citizens.

PUBLIC WARNING FOR ALL CITIZENS

In light of recent attacks and weather-related disasters, the French President highlighted the need for a public warning (reverse-112) system, considering it a “national priority”.

“France should have a modern and resilient
public warning system to alert the population.”

Recent crises in France and other European countries have proved beyond doubt the need for such a system.

“President Macron’s remarks are consistent with today’s challenges faced by emergency services.” said Benoit Vivier, EENA Advocacy Officer. “Instead of just the siren systems currently used by most EU Member-States, authorities must also be able to use telephone networks to send an alert directly on people’s phones in case of a crisis.” EENA has called for the introduction of such a system on many occasions (here).

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR EUROPEAN SAFETY

Europe has an important decision ahead. The EU’s legislative update on telecoms, known as the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), is a unique opportunity for concrete progress. The European Parliament overwhelmingly supports reverse-112 and included provisions in the EECC to facilitate its introduction . We hope that France will defend this cause at the Council of the European Union and contribute to making it a reality for all Europeans.

A MODERN 112 SERVICE FOR FRANCE

The President also addressed the issue of a common platform handling all emergency calls, a comment in-line with requests of French fire-fighters, who have long argued for a single emergency number. Read the article on the RELATED PRESS RELEASES sidebar.

“This term must also be the opportunity […] to set up a single platform that receives
emergency calls. We need to make things simpler and to have a common
platform of emergency calls that is much easier to use.”

EENA remains at the disposal of the French President and available to provide any help needed towards this cause.


Link to the announcement available here.