Emergencies in Paris

Good to Know

• 112 works from any phone in Paris, even without a SIM card or credit, and operators can respond in English — it's the easiest default if you're unsure which service to call.
• Do not call 911 or 999 in Paris — they will not connect to French emergency services.
• If you get a call from 0 800 112 112 after contacting emergency services, answer it — it's the official callback line, not spam.
• The Ma Sécurité app is useful for non-urgent safety questions, reporting scams, or finding your nearest police station, but for a true emergency you should always call 17 or 112 directly rather than relying on the app's chat.
• In any medical emergency in Paris, call 15 (SAMU) first rather than going straight to a hospital — the dispatcher will send an ambulance/mobile ICU team (SMUR) if needed and direct you (or the ambulance) to the most appropriate hospital, which may not be the nearest one.
• Île-de-France runs an 'exclusive trauma system': the most severe trauma cases are only taken to a handful of officially designated Level 1 trauma centers, of which Pitié-Salpêtrière and Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou are the ones located inside Paris proper — other hospitals' ERs handle everyday injuries and illnesses but will transfer serious polytrauma cases onward.
• Necker-Enfants Malades treats children only — adults needing emergency care should not go there directly.
• English-speaking staff are not guaranteed, especially outside major teaching hospitals; bringing a French-speaking companion or a translation app is genuinely useful in a French ER.
• European visitors should carry an EHIC/GHIC card if eligible; other nomads should expect to pay upfront for care and later seek reimbursement or use travel insurance, per standard French hospital procedure.