Emergency and helpline numbers in France, with Paris contacts

• 15 – SAMU (medical emergencies): serious illness, injury, breathing problems, chest pain, loss of consciousness, a medical emergency at home. In Île-de-France, 15 is also the number to call for urgent medical advice in the evening, at night and at weekends when you cannot reach a doctor.
• 17 – Police or gendarmerie: a crime in progress, violence, a threat to public order or a situation where you need the police urgently.
• 18 – Fire brigade (sapeurs-pompiers): fire, gas leak, accidents and situations where people are in danger.
• 112 – European emergency number: works from any phone in any EU country and redirects to the appropriate service. Useful if you do not remember the French numbers or do not speak French.
• 114 – Emergency number by text message or video: for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, who can contact the emergency services by SMS or video instead of a voice call.

• 115 – Social emergency (Samu social): emergency shelter and help for people who are homeless or at risk of sleeping outside.
• 119 – Children in danger: to report a child at risk of violence or abuse.
• 116 000 – Missing children: if a child has gone missing.
• 196 – Sea rescue (from the coast) and 191 – Air rescue.
• 3117 – Public transport alerts: to report an assault or a situation putting people in danger on trains and public transport.
• 197 – Attack alert: used only when the authorities activate it.

• 3114 – Suicide prevention: free and available 24/7.
• 3919 – Violence against women: free helpline for women who are victims of violence. In immediate danger, call 17.
• 3018 – Online harassment (cyberharassment).
• 3977 – Abuse of older people and adults with disabilities.
• Poison control (centre antipoison): in Paris, 01 40 05 48 48, available around the clock.

When your own doctor is not available and the situation is not life-threatening:

• Call 15 first: a doctor assesses your situation and directs you to advice, an on-call medical centre (maison médicale de garde), a home visit or an emergency department. In Île-de-France, call 15 before going to an on-call centre.
• On-call doctors and home visits listed by the City of Paris: SOS Médecins 01 47 07 77 77 (Paris and inner suburbs), Urgences Médicales de Paris 01 53 94 94 94, and Garde Médicale de Paris 01 42 72 88 88 (consultations only).
• Dental emergencies: SOS Dentaire 01 43 37 51 00 (87 boulevard de Port-Royal, 13th arrondissement), and the Île-de-France dental emergency service on Sundays and public holidays (urgences-dentaires.org).
• On-call pharmacies (pharmacies de garde): the City of Paris points to the MonPharmacien website and app (monpharmacien-idf.fr) to find the nearest one.
• Mental health crisis: call 15, or the psychiatric orientation centre (CPOA) on 01 45 65 81 09, which receives people 24/7.

Stay calm and answer the operator's questions. Be ready to give:

1. Where you are: the full address, arrondissement or town, building, floor, door code and any landmark. If you are outside, the street name and a nearby shop or metro station.
2. What happened: illness, accident, fire, assault, and how many people are involved.
3. The condition of the person: conscious or not, breathing or not, bleeding.
4. A phone number where you can be called back.

Do not hang up until the operator tells you to. If you do not speak French well, say so at the start of the call and speak slowly.