Calling emergency services: police, ambulance

You have different options to contact the police and ask them for help. 

Depending on the location of your call, you will be put in contact with a police station.

• In an emergency, call 17, a free phone number available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you do not speak French, an interpreter will be assigned to your call.
• If you are deaf or hearing impaired, or cannot speak on the phone, send an SMS to 114 with your address. This service is available in French only.
• You can go to any police station near you, either a “commissariat de police” or a “brigade de gendarmerie”, to tell them that you are not safe. You can find their address on this website.

You can talk to the police online via chat. This service is available in many languages.

When you call the police, try to stay calm despite the emergency, and express yourself clearly.

You can make it easier and quicker for them to handle your call by specifying:

• the language you speak, trying to say it in French if you can 
• the telephone number you can be reached on
• the exact address of the place where you need them to go
• the reason for your call.

Listen carefully to their advice on what to do while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.

You have different options to contact the emergency medical services and ask them for help.

If you do not speak French, an interpreter will be assigned to your call. 

• The easiest thing to do is to call 112, a free phone number available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They will send you a team from the “SAMU” or the “pompiers”, depending on your needs. 
• The official number of the ambulance or “SAMU” is 15. This number is free to call and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 
• The official number for the fire brigade or "pompiers" is 18. This number is free to call and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 
• If you are deaf or hearing impaired, or cannot speak on the phone, send an SMS to 114 with your address. This service is available in French and English only.

When you call emergency medical services, try to stay calm despite the emergency, and express yourself clearly.

You can make it easier and quicker for them to handle your call by specifying:

• the language you speak, trying to say it in French if you can 
• the telephone number you can be reached on
• the exact address of the place where you need them to go
• the reason for your call.

Listen carefully to the advice you are given on what to do while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.

If you do not speak French, an interpreter will be assigned to your call. They will translate your conversation.

When the emergency services arrive on site, there are solutions to communicate with them, such as using a voice translation application. 

If you have called the police due to domestic abuse, you can show them this letter.

In France, police officers or "policiers” and “gendarmes” have an obligation to respect human rights without discrimination, even if you do not have valid residency rights. 

If you are ever treated disrespectfully and/or discriminated against, there are ways to report a violation of the law committed by "policiers" or "gendarmes".

You can report a violation of the law:

• to the “IGGN” if your situation was handled by “gendarmes”
• to the “IGPN” if your situation was handled by “policiers”
• to the human rights commissioner or Défenseur des Droits in the event of discrimination.

In the event of danger, you have the right to ask for assistance from the police, even if you do not have valid residency rights. 

The "policiers" and "gendarmes" do not have the right to hold you in custody when they are intervening for your safety or if you contact them to report an incident you have experienced. 

If you have called the police due to domestic abuse, please show them this letter as a reminder that they cannot detain you.