This was surprising! In Paris, residents received a notification from FR-Alert. No attack or earthquake, but a reminder from the Government for the security measures to come during the Olympics.

This was surprising! In Paris, residents received a notification from FR-Alert. No attack or earthquake, but a reminder from the Government for the security measures to come during the Olympics.

The Paris Olympic Games are fast approaching and will bring in their wake a whole host of upheavals and restrictive measures to say the least. Between the QR codes to have the right to travel and the Transport Public Paris 2024 application to make travel as smooth as possible, which promises to be laborious, and without taking into account the multiplication of cyberattacks, the event is awaited with as much impatience as of anxiety. And this is not the latest maneuver by the prefecture that will reassure Parisians!

On Monday May 13 at 8 p.m., many residents of the City of Lights received a message from FR-Alert, an emergency information system which normally allows authorities (law enforcement, emergency services, etc.) to send real-time notifications to the mobile phones of people in an area facing serious danger (natural or industrial disaster, attack, serious road accident, chemical or nuclear accident, etc.). The reason for this anxiety alert? Nothing of the sort, it was simply the Paris Prefecture which informed that, due to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games which will be held on July 26 along the Seine, “access to the places where the ceremony takes place along the Seine” were going to be restricted from July 18 to 26. People with requirements in these areas at that time (residents, traders, etc.) are invited to submit their application to obtain a QR Code.

This “Extreme Alert” was received with concern, then irritation. “When you have this on your phone, in Los Angeles, there’s an earthquake!”, guest Judith Godrèche was surprised live on France Inter. Internet users did not hesitate to protest against the abusive and shameful use of such an emergency service! It is true that the use of the term “Extremely serious alert” for what is just simple information may seem inappropriate. This could very well have created panic scenes! Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of the Interior took responsibility for the system: “It’s not a test. It’s information (…) An exceptional event, an exceptional device.”

A communication operation that did not please everyone, to the extent that this device was originally designed for vital emergencies. And after the scare, many complained on social networks about this misuse. Especially since it could reduce the impact of a real alert…

FR-Alert: what is this device normally used for?

Operational since June 21, 2022, the FR-Alert general alert system is not yet well known by the French, despite its automatic deployment on all mobile phones. This is why the Government launched a communication campaign via social networks, YouTube and even TV spots last October. After a test phase, FR-Alert was fully deployed at the end of June 2022 throughout France and the overseas departments, for owners of smartphones equipped with 4G and 5G, but also for 2G and 3G devices.

Normally, FR-Alert is a system that alerts populations to report “any type of major event justifying alerting the population concerned for safety”, to use the words of the Ministry of the Interior. As soon as a person is located in the area facing immediate danger (natural disasters, biological or chemical events, health events, technological and industrial accidents, serious public security events or acts of a terrorist nature), the device sends them messages. alert notifications on your mobile phone – on Android and iOS – accompanied by a fairly shrill sound signal, including when the mobile is in silent mode – however, this does not work if the device is turned off or in airplane mode .