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Knowing first aid gestures is the wish of many French people. However, less than one in two say they have mastered them, which puts France far behind several European neighbours. Explanations.
“40% of French people are trained in lifesaving gestures”
In nearly nine out of ten emergency situations, the life of a loved one is at stake. “However, the training rate of the French population is among the lowest in Europe”is moved by the French Red Cross on the eve of “World First Aid Day” which took place on September 10th.
Today, only 40% of French people are trained in lifesaving gestures. “We believe that this figure should be doubled”, told AFP Philippe Da Costa, the president of the Red Cross. This was also the objective of President Emmanuel Macron: 80% of the population trained at the end of his first five-year term. Our European neighbors such as Norway, Austria or Germany have already reached this ratio.
“When you question the French, 80% consider that they are not or badly prepared in the face of crises or disasters“, regrets Philippe Da Costa.
The desire to train is nevertheless there: “two out of three French people want to know the gestures that save”, he assures.
Like François Breheret, 38, who followed last weekend at the Red Cross in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine) an initiation to first aid for children and infants. “What pushed me to come was the birth of my little boy, who is just over a year old today”he says. “It’s reassuring to know that we know the gestures that save, if anything happens to him”.
Elena Shmygina, 45, who works part-time in childcare, considers this training “essential” for her job. But also for everyday life. “I ride a scooter and I have already witnessed an accident: that day I felt totally helpless”she recalls.
First aid training from the age of 3
During this training, three main modules are on the program: how to react in the event of choking, bleeding or loss of consciousness.
Using mannequins, the trainer shows participants the steps to follow in an emergency: slaps on the back or finger pressure on the sternum, pressure dressing to stop bleeding, lateral safety position to secure the victim and help her breathe…
The gestures are reproduced and repeated several times. “There, we are in vital danger, as soon as the victim breathes, I alert the emergency services!”launches the trainer. “You can follow a training course from the age of three”, assures Florence June, communication manager of the Hauts-de-Seine Red Cross, stressing that schools are more and more interested.
“Many professions (early childhood, drivers, etc.) now also require training for their employees”, she adds. “More and more people are training, but France is starting from a very long way“, she continues.
In 2020, in order to promote first aid actions and raise public awareness, a law created the status of “rescuer citizen”. It provides legal protection for people assisting a victim of cardiac arrest.
In addition, each year in France, approximately 40,000 people die of cardiac arrest. “If nothing is done in the minutes that follow, the chances of survival are almost nil”, recalls the French Federation of Cardiology. And victims are eight times more likely to survive when a witness is able to perform CPR quickly.
“Survival after cardiac arrest is less than 10% in France, while it is higher (20-30%) in other northern European countries”underlined in 2018 the National Academy of Medicine, recommending to train “the entire French population” in life-saving gestures.
For the President of the Red Cross, “behind the political discourse, there needs to be a stronger commitment from the State and local authorities”. “The involvement of ambassadors also has a role to play in raising awareness on the subject”, he believes. Indeed, the actress and model Adriana Karembeu, ambassador of the French Red Cross, was notably present in Avignon to encourage the public to learn on Saturday, September 10th.