Au Secours!

Thanks to Cucina Test Rossa for the
photo of the cute policemen

The folks over at AngloInfo published a very useful set of numbers to call in case of emergency.  My adult son says I'm a  hysteric, pain in the a-- worrier, but I say better safe than sorry. I'm posting this list on the refrigerator in the kitchen and in his room.  Some of the useful numbers:

• Medical Help -- SAMU  ...................................................... 15
• Police/Police Nationale ................................................... 17
• Fire and accident - Pompiers .......................................... 18
• SOS -- all services (Europe wide) .................................... 112
• Emergency Shelter ............................................................115

The bad news is that the person you get on the line may not speak English just as you note your English-French dictionary is on fire. The good news is that you can cross your fingers and use the other hand to call any of these numbers free of charge -- from public phones, fixed land lines or cell phones.

You need to be ready to tell the dispatcher where you need assistance (location), your name and phone number, what happened and if it is still happening, how many people need help and wheter weapons are involved.   AngloInfo also provides a handy dandy list of useful phrases for emergencies,  from "I'm in labor" to "that last chunk of foie gras is giving me a heart attack."  (I made up the second one.)