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LIVING IN FRANCE

Explained: France’s emergency sirens and alert protocol

France's civil defence sirens are tested monthly - and there's also a published emergency protocol which residents and regular visitors are encouraged to read.

Published: 2 March 2022 11:39 CET
Updated: 7 February 2024 12:14 CET
Explained: France's emergency sirens and alert protocol
Photo: Colin Maynard / Unsplash

If you’re in a French town on the first Wednesday of the month at 12 noon, you can expect to hear the sinister wailing of the emergency siren.

This is normal and happens 12 times a year.

Early in 2022, the tense situation in Ukraine led authorities to warn people in advance about the regular monthly test, to avoid panic. 

In a test situation, you should hear the siren sound for one minute and 41 seconds. 

What to do in case of a real emergency

In case of a real emergency – such as the Lubrizol factory fire in September 2019 – the sirens will sound for much longer, in three spells of one-minute 41-seconds, broken by a five-second pause.

A 30-second siren indicates the end of any alert.

If you do hear the longer siren, indicating a genuine emergency, you are expected to be aware of likely dangers that could affect your area and take necessary precautions. 

The sirens are usually not used for police or crime-related alerts – for example they do not sound in case of a shooting or terror attack in an urban area.

They’re more designed for an environmental alert such as a big fire that is giving off dangerous chemicals or an accident at a nuclear plant. They can also be used for a particularly extreme weather event.

In most cases, hearing the alert means heading to a closed area – switching off any air-conditioning or other ventilation systems – and tuning into France Inter and France Info or local radio stations. 

DO NOT 

Stay in a vehicle – roads must be cleared to facilitate the action of the emergency services. A vehicle gives a false sense of security. In the event of a flood, for example, 30 cm of water is enough to carry away a car and it cannot withstand the fall of a tree.

Try to collect children from school – educational establishments will keep your children safe until the end of the emergency

Stay near windows – certain circumstances (such as explosions, high winds) can break glass and injure anyone nearby.

Open windows to find out what’s going on outside – the alert signal may be triggered due to air pollution – such as a toxic cloud – caused by an emergency incident. 

Light a naked flame – air pollution (toxic cloud, chemicals) may be flammable. Do not take the risk of triggering an explosion until the nature of the danger is fully identified.

Leave your shelter without instructions from the authorities – the purpose of the alert signal is to keep people safe. As long as the alert is not lifted (continuous siren sound for 30 seconds), leaving the shelter exposes you to danger.

Take the elevator – Weather events can lead to power cuts and elevator breakdowns. The people there would therefore risk being trapped there.

Retrace your steps – in general and especially in the event of flooding or dam failure, never go back, in case you get trapped in the middle of rising waters, for example.

Downstream from a hydraulic structure, such as a dam

A specific “fog horn” type warning signal warns the population of the rupture of the structure or of a significant release of water. It includes a cycle of a minimum duration of two minutes, composed of sound emissions of two seconds separated by an interval of three seconds.

These sirens are tested every quarter – on the first Wednesday of March, June, September and December at 12.15pm. This exercise signal has only one 12-second cycle consisting of three two-second beeps separated by a three-second interval.

If you hear this sound outside the normal tests you should:

  • Evacuate and head to higher ground listed in the plans particuliers d’intervention (PPI) of the structure. Otherwise, head to the upper floors of a high and solid building;
  • In the event of the rupture of a hydraulic structure (such as a dam), the zones located downstream are flooded in a few minutes. Evacuate if possible, or move to a high point, such as the upper floors of a high and solid building.
  • Wait for instructions from the authorities or the end of alert signal (sound continues for 30 seconds) to leave the high points. 

France’s other alert system is via text message – the FR-Alert system sends a text message to any phone within the area of the alert zone. This is accompanied by a loud alert sound, even if your phone is switched to silent.

FR-Alert – How France’s emergency alert ststem works

Member comments

  1. Bonjour, in case of an emergency described above, are there any radio – or TV stations that broadcast emergency information in other languages, e.g. English or German? Thank you.

  2. In addition to these quarterly tests many villages test their systems every Sunday (ours does) and it triggers automatically if there is a loss of power (so in incidents of high winds in particular).

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PROPERTY

BBQs, plants and laundry: What are the rules in France around balconies?

If you want to grill some ribs, install heavy plants or even hang up your laundry to dry on your balcony in France, then there is one document you'll want to consult beforehand.

Published: 7 May 2024 10:43 CEST
BBQs, plants and laundry: What are the rules in France around balconies?

If you live in an apartment building in France, then you might be curious whether there are any rules regulating what you are allowed and not allowed to do on your French balcony.

The answer is relatively simple: it depends on your copropriété. In France, a copropriété is a type of building that is split up into several different apartments that are individually owned. It is also the name of the individuals who together make up the co-owners of that shared building, similar to a ‘homeowner’s association’.

READ MORE: PROPERTY: What you need to know about ‘copropriété’ fees in France

Most of the time your building will also hire a syndic, or managing agents for the building.

Every copropriété should have a règlement de copropriété, which is a written document outlining all of the operating rules of the building, as well as the rights and olbigations of the ‘co-owners’ and tenants.

This document governs the common areas of the building and the fees that go into the building’s maintenance (les charges), but it can also regulate the use of private areas under certain circumstances. For example, the règlement might have its own rules about the hours that you can do noisy renovation work, or a list of colours allowed for the shutters on your exterior windows.

So can I barbecue on my balcony?

As you may have guessed from above, the règlement de copropriété may outline the rules for balcony or terrace usage.

This means that the document can dictate anything from whether or not you can hang laundry outside to the weight of plants allowed and the rules on barbecues.

The gist is that the regulations governing balconies and what you can do on them vary widely from one apartment building to another.

Some apartment buildings allow for people to use small electric grills for barbecues, while others might ban grilling and barbecuing altogether.

When asking about your balcony, be sure to find out whether any parts of it are considered ‘shared space’.

Under some circumstances, the règlement may deem balcony railings to be part of the shared space, which would have consequences for the minimum amount of maintenance required by the owner. Though, this would be most likely to occur if the upkeep of your balcony’s railing has a direct impact on the structure of the building or other apartments.

Similarly, the document might consider the actual concrete slab of the balcony to be the responsibility of the copropriété for maintenance and upkeep. In this case, if you had a crack in your balcony then the repair costs would fall on the copropriété and not you individually.

How do I find out about the règlement for my building?

If you have a gardien (doorman) you can start by asking him/her. They would likely have a copy on-hand, or they might just know the answer to your question.

Otherwise, you can reach out to the building’s syndic, or you can even request a copy of the document from the land registration service. The latter option will cost €30, and you would need to file a formal request (you can find the form here).

How are these rules decided?

The règlement for the copropriété is voted on in a general meeting of co-owners, and it can be changed.

To do this, you would need to gather the ‘general assembly’ of co-owners in the building. Then you would need to vote. Depending on the nature of the change, French law can require that the co-owners in the building reach a simple majority (most owners present vote yes) or an absolute majority (out of all owners, including those not present, the majority vote yes).

You can find the voting rules on this government website.

In general, the items outlined in the règlement will be justified somehow. For example, the rules related to furniture and plant height/weight might have to do with concerns about safety and ensuring that the concrete slab of the balcony holds up.

But that does not mean that ‘aesthetic’ concerns are irrelevant – your copropriété might consider something like hanging laundry to dry from your balcony to be an ‘aesthetic harm’ (or hygienic concern) for your building.

The standard for all French copropriétés is that anything that changes the exterior appearance of the building is not allowed, and in order to do so, you must get special permission.

READ MORE: The rules for installing air conditioning in your French home

What about local laws and rules?

In certain situations, there might be additional local laws and rules that regulate activities you might want to do on your balcony.

For example, when it comes to BBQs, some areas – especially if there is a drought – will ban or restrict them to avoid the danger of starting wildfires.

Certain legal clauses might restrict charcoal BBQs and allow gas ones, while others could restrict barbecuing to certain times. Check with your local mairie to see if there are restrictions where you live.

READ MORE: What are the rules of having a BBQ in France?

Departmental health regulations may also contain rules that would apply to balconies and terraces.

For example, in Paris the health regulations prohibit the storing of flammable liquids, seeds, bread crumbs or food of any kind on windows, balconies and outside parts of buildings.

It also stipulates that anything hanging from a balcony or window should be done so in a safe manner so that it does not create a dangerous environment for passers-by or other building occupants.

Overall, you can do what you want with and on your balcony, as long as you comply with the copropriété rules and existing local or departmental health/safety regulations, you do not alter the external appearance of the building or carry out any large-scale, structural work that you’d need a permit for, and as long as whatever you do/install on your balcony does not create a safety risk.

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