Help could be harder to come by this winter due to possible power outages. C’est ce qu’annonce le gouvernement dans une circulaire destinée aux préfets dans le cadre des préparatifs à un hiver durant lequel des “délestages”, c’est-à-dire des interruptions de fournitures d’électricité ponctuelles décidées pourraient avoir lieu en Metropolitan France.
In areas affected by power outages, “users will not be able to contact emergency services (emergency call numbers 15, 17, 18, 115, 196). In these situations, the use of 112 will be a palliative”, can be read.
The inaccessible numbers correspond to Samu (15), police emergencies (17), firefighters (18), social emergencies (115) and rescue at sea (196).
The highlight of 112, the “European number for emergency calls”, is due to the fact that this number is “accessible regardless of the operator, therefore, with a much higher chance that the call will be routed, as soon as the area is covered broadcast”. by at least one operator,” the government explains.
This number also has the characteristic of being, as its own name indicates, common to all the countries of the European Union. It is also used by other non-EU countries, including several outside Europe, according to Tout l’Europe.
Risks for rural populations or those without mobility
However, 112 cannot be a panacea. It is particularly problematic for people who live in rural areas. Indeed, 112 has a wide and reliable coverage because it allows whoever dials it to be connected to the nearest repeater antenna, even if it is not from your operator. However, these repeater antennas are not part of the priority infrastructures and, therefore, it could be that none of them is available in a given area during load shedding.
“In rural areas, [il y a] a very significant risk that you won’t be able to have 112 at the end of your phone,” warns Marc Noizet, an emergency doctor from Mulhouse and president of Samu-Urgence de France, a guest on BFMTV.
There are comparatively “few risks” in urban areas according to him. Prefects are expected to have access to a “mapping of areas that would not be covered by 112,” the government circular says.
Another public at risk: people without mobile phones. If they have a landline, they won’t be able to use it if it’s a power-only phone. Only fixed telephones with battery may work, prior connection to a repeater antenna.
To prevent people from being left without an emergency aid solution, the Government asks the prefects to “encourage the population to guarantee a presence with an elderly or vulnerable person”, but also to guarantee that the agents are present in the “public right-of-way”. emergency and security services (firefighters, police, gendarmerie, municipal police…)” to allow a face-to-face appeal.
In this sense, the autonomous health agencies will also have to send a list of “high-risk patients” to the electricity providers so that they do what is necessary to ensure that they are connected to the network at all times.
In addition, the government orders the prefectures “to physically deploy means on land to maintain radio coverage in areas without coverage (satellite media, ADRASEC devices (Departmental Associations of Radio Amateurs at the Civil Security Service), etc.)”
An upcoming promotional campaign of 112
Another problem for the government is that the number 112 is rarely used in France. In 2019, only 9% of emergency calls were called to this number according to a report by the European Commission, the lowest percentage in the European Union, while other countries have made it their unique emergency number such as Denmark, Holland or Portugal.
The circular provides, therefore, that “the State will provide specific communication to publicize and encourage the use of 112”.
However, the start date of this campaign and its terms have not yet been announced.
Source: BFM TV
