The French Civil Protection ( French: ''fédération nationale de protection civile''), or the FNPC, is a French humanitarian and first aid

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

. Its logo, a blue triangle on white and orange ground, comes from the international distinctive sign of civil defence,Defined in article 66 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts; June 8, 1977 which is a

protective sign Protective signs are symbols to be used during an armed conflict to mark persons and objects under the protection of various treaties of international humanitarian law (IHL). While their essential meaning can be summarized as "Don't shoot" or "Don't ...

under the protection of the four

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...

of 1949. This

is not to be confused with the French

Sécurité Civile The (General directorate for civil defense and crisis management) is a civil defense agency of the French Government. It operates for the Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civilian and military personnel over 60 sites. Known as the ...

, which is a government agency.

History

From Civil Defense to Civil Protection

At the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the high number of civilian casualties highlighted the need to upgrade the protection of people during conflicts. In 1933, the first

voluntary organization A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteering, volunteers, to form a body (or organ ...

to protect civilians during war time was founded with the support of

Gaston Doumergue Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He served as President of France from 13 June 1924 to 13 June 1931. Biography Doumergue cam ...

. In 1938, at the dawn of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the French government developed civil defense (''défense passive'') policies. Their goal was to build

blast shelter A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from blasts and explosions, like those from bombs, or in hazardous worksites, such as on oil and gas refineries or petrochemical facilities. It differs from a fallout shelter, ...

s and warning networks to keep people safe from airstrikes. After the war, the ''défense passive'' missions became more and more related to non military threats like natural disasters. In 1951, a national service for civil protection in the

ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

was established. This government agency then became the French

in 1975. However, this nationalization did not hamper volunteering which developed through local civil protection societies from 1958.

Local societies and the national federation

In 1965, there were local civil protection societies in 26 departments. Following a call from Prime minister

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

, the national federation of civil protection (''Fédération nationale de protection civile'') was constituted on December 14, 1965 in Paris, in order to manage these local societies and to raise popular awareness on civil defense. The first federal president was Léon Robine. In 1968, there were local societies in 54 departments and 31,701 volunteers. One year later, a decree entitled the French Civil Protection as an association acting in the public interest. During the 1980s, the Civil Protection became the society which delivered the second highest number of

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

trainings in France. Its volunteers also led awareness campaigns on several topics such as

, domestic accidents,

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

or road safety. In the early 1990s, the national federation of civil protection was unifying 94 local civil protection associations, but also other societies like the French White Cross, the RATP first aid society or the national civil defense amateur radio society. Since 1993, the French Civil Protection is entitled to deliver official first aid training and certifications.

Missions broadening

From 1991 to 2009, Louis Lareng, the founder of the French emergency medical service, was elected president of the national federation of civil protection. Under his impulse, the scope of civil defense societies widened from their traditional first aid stations missions to

disaster response Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle. It consists of a number of elements, for example; warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immed ...

and

emergency response Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wi ...

. Since then, the French civil protection has developed civil defense partnerships with national and local authorities.

Presidents

* 1965–1969: Léon Robine * 1969–1978: Lucien Leprestre * 1978–1980: Jean Perreau Pradier * 1980–1985: Guy Bonneterre * 1985–1991: Ida Guinot * 1991–2009: Louis Lareng * 2009–2012: Yannick Chenevard * 2012–2015: Christian Wax * 2015–2019: Paul Francheterre * Since 2019: François Richez Source

Current organization

The French Civil Protection is a

acting in the public interest, with a government certification to carry civil defense missions. In 2018, there were 32,000 volunteers acting in more than 500 local societies spread into 97 departments. The federation is led by a board of directors with 24 members and by François Richez who has been the federal president since 2019.

National level

The national federation is the organization in charge of managing the 97 societies spread in metropolitan and overseas departments. Headquarters are located in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...

Departmental and local levels

In each department, there can only be one association labeled by the national federation as a "departmental association of civil protection" (''association départementale de protection civile, or ADPC''). Each departmental association is in charge of one or several local societies (''antennes'') which are the operational units of the organization. For historical reasons, there is only one departmental association for the departments of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobig ...

and

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a p ...

. In overseas territories, departmental associations can have different names, like the Polynesian federation of civil protection (''fédération polynésienne de protection civile'') from French Polynesia. However, their organization is the same as in

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

. The French Civil Protection has no local association in some departments like Ardennes,

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged w ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, ...

, Eure,

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

Protection Civile Paris Seine

The ''Protection Civile Paris Seine'' (PCPS) is the departmental association for

and

. Its history and status are specific. Until 1998, the

Paris Police Prefecture The police prefecture (french: préfecture de police) is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and the surrounding t ...

was hiring temporary and volunteer rescuers in the interdepartmental civil protection service (''service interdépartemental de protection civile''). Their missions included

for the

Paris Fire Brigade The Paris Fire Brigade (french: Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris, BSPP) is a French Army unit which serves as the primary fire and rescue service for Paris, the city's inner suburbs and certain sites of national strategic importance. The ...

. Then the service was disbanded and replaced by the Civil Protection of Paris, a local society managed by the National Federation of Civil Protection. It was then renamed ''Protection Civile Paris Seine.'' There are 1300 volunteers in 36 local societies (''

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

'', 5e, 6e, 8e, 10e, 11e, 12e, 13e, 14e, 15e, 16e, 17e, 18e, 19e, 20e, Asnières,

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''. Geography Localisati ...

, Boulogne-Billancourt, Bourg-La-Reine,

Clichy-sous-Bois Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from central Paris.Colombes, Courbevoie, Creteil, Garches,

Gennevilliers Gennevilliers () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 46,907. History On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the ...

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

Pantin Pantin () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plai ...

, Montreuil,

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...

, Gentilly,

Orly Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the co ...

, Reuil-Malmaison,

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud a ...

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris ...

, Villeuve-la-Garenne), operating a fleet of 44

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

s, 17 boats, 16 light vehicles, 3 logistic vehicles and 1 mobile headquarters vehicle.

Missions

The French Civil protection has a government certification to carry 4 types of missions: * first aid stations management; *

training; * humanitarian and social support; *

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

and

First aid stations

Provisional first aid stations (''dispositifs prévisionnels de secours'') are established during cultural, political or sportive events to provide medical first response to the participants. In 2016, the French Civil Protection carried 18,200 first aid stations. There are different configurations to adapt to the scale of the event: # warning and

first aid station An aid station is a temporary facility (often a tent, table, or general rest area) established to provide supplies to endurance event participants or medical first aid and provisions during major events, disaster response situations, or military ...

: 2 certified first responders; # small scale provisional

: 4 to 12 certified first responders; # medium scale provisional

: 13 to 36 certified first responders; # large scale provisional

: at least 37 certified first responders.

Notable first aid stations

The list below gives examples of notable first aid stations carried by the French Civil Protection: * The Bayonne Festival; * The Paris International Marathon; * The

Vieilles Charrues Festival The Vieilles Charrues Festival (french: Festival des Vieilles Charrues, ; br, Gouel an Erer Kozh, ; literally: Old Ploughs Festival) is held every year in mid-July in the city of Carhaix, located in western Brittany, France. This festival is the ...

; * The 2018 FIFA World Cup Final Fan Fest in Paris.

First aid training

The French Civil Protection delivers public basic first aid training (''prévention et secours civiques de niveau 1'', or ''PSC1''). The association is also entitled to train its own members to become

Certified First Responder A certified first responder is a person who has completed a course and received certification in providing pre-hospital care for medical emergencies. Certified individuals should have received much more instruction than someone who is trained ...

at ''PSE1'' and ''PSE2'' levels. Specialized trainings as nautical first aid are also delivered. In 2016, 2,600 certified trainers from the French Civil Protection trained 110,000 people to first aids.

Humanitarian and social support

The French Civil Protection is entitled to carry a broad scope of humanitarian and support missions including assistance to the homeless and post-disaster response. In 1999, the Federation contributed to an international humanitarian operation to support refugees from the

Kosovo war The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...

by managing the Stenkovec refugee camp in Macedonia.

Emergency response

The

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

and Nord local societies are entitled to take part in emergency and

missions for the

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, the French emergency medical service and the

fire services A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

Notable missions

French Civil Protection teams participated in the

after the 1999 MV Erika sinking, the 2001 Toulouse chemical factory explosion and the 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 crash. During the November 2015 Paris attacks, 130 first responders contributed to manage the crisis, to evacuate the victims to local hospitals, and to provide first aid to the witnesses. After the

2016 Nice truck attack On the evening of 14 July 2016, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, resulting in the deaths of 86 people and the injury of 458 others. The dri ...

, 162 volunteers provided

and

psychological first aid Psychological first aid (PFA) is a technique designed to reduce the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder. It was developed by the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (NC-PTSD), a section of the United States Department of Ve ...

to the victims, their relatives and witnesses.

Equipment

Vehicles

In 2016, the Federation owned a fleet of 1,230 vehicles, including 400 ambulances, light vehicles, boats, mobile headquarters vehicles, off-road vehicles and bicycles. The vehicles are white, with a large orange line on which the Federation logo is displayed and the words "PROTECTION CIVILE" are written in blue. Thin blue lines surround the orange line, except in Paris. As the French Civil Protection is certified for

missions, its vehicles can be entitled to have blue

emergency vehicle lighting Emergency vehicle lighting, also known as simply emergency lighting or emergency lights, is a type of vehicle lighting used to visually announce a vehicle's presence to other road users. A sub-type of emergency vehicle equipment, emergency veh ...

and a two-tone siren. File:Poste Commandement Mobile Protection Civile Paris Vectra75 IMG 20140906 153935.jpg, alt= Mobile headquarters vehicle, Mobile headquarters vehicle File:Protection Civile de Paris Ambulance pic1.JPG, alt= Light vehicle, Light vehicle File:Vehicle Protection Civile Alpes-Maritimes P1020007.JPG, alt=Off-road vehicle, Off-road vehicle File:Protection Civile de Paris Ambulance Premier Secours pic1.JPG, alt= First aid vehicle (ambulance), First aid vehicle (ambulance)

Uniform

Volunteers must wear

combat boot Combat boots are military boots designed to be worn by soldiers during combat or combat training, as opposed to during parades and other ceremonial duties. Modern combat boots are designed to provide a combination of grip, ankle stability, an ...

s and the Federal uniform during their missions. The trousers are blue with a vertical orange band on each side and reflective tape. The white, blue and orange top displays the logo and the words "PROTECTION CIVILE" on the back and on the right shoulder. Since 2012, the uniform has been in accordance with the European standard for high visibility clothing, number NF EN 471. During some missions, first responders can wear a ''F2'' helmet.

References

External links

*
Map of departmental associations

{{DEFAULTSORT:French Civil Protection First aid Disaster preparedness Emergency services Emergency medical services in France