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.