The French are not ready to face climate crises, underlines the Red Cross

The second report from the Red Cross on the resilience of French society, published Thursday, highlights “disparities” in the face of climatic phenomena.

The French are not ready to face climate crises, underlines the Red Cross in its second Report on the resilience of French societypublished Thursday April 25. “Even if public authorities and populations are now aware of the need to be trained in good behavior and life-saving actions, the proportion of citizens actually trained remains insufficient”the report says.

France is in fact still at the bottom of the European ranking, with less than half of its residents trained in first aid. “We only have 40% of French people who have received first aid training, whereas in Germany, for example, it is 80%.” explains on franceinfo Sandra Hoibian, general director of CREDOC.

Faced with climate disasters that “continues to intensify and multiply”, the humanitarian aid association formulates ten proposals to improve crisis management. In particular, the French should all have an emergency bag on hand, with a bottle of water, a flashlight and warm clothing. The Red Cross also calls for training at least 80% of the population in life-saving actions, “build up a corps of volunteers ready to be deployed” or even to “pre-position stocks of equipment and logistical resources”. She also calls for greater awareness among the French of extreme events, for example with the national exercise day on October 13.

“Assume the dizzying cost of inaction”

The Red Cross also recommends the implementation of a plan “very hot”like the plan “extreme cold”, with devices to protect the most vulnerable. The report indeed highlights “disparities” in the face of climatic phenomena, which “affect the most vulnerable more, by thriving on socio-economic and territorial inequalities”underlines the president of the French Red Cross, Philippe Da Costa.

The elderly are also among the most vulnerable. “We have 17% of retirees who do not have a cell phone,” explains Sandra Hoibian. “However, among the alert systems, we have FR-Alert which allows you to contact everyone in the event of a disaster, even if you are not registered, you have not downloaded the application, but when you don’t have a phone, you’re less reachable”, continues the general director of CREDOC.

Finally, if the Red Cross welcomes the development of climate change observatories in the regions and the multiplication of municipal protection plans, it deplores at the same time the reductions in funds allocated to civil protection associations. This report “calls for action quickly and forcefully, both at the individual and collective level. Without this, we will have to assume the dizzying cost of inaction and unpreparedness, compounded by the weight of the feeling of powerlessness”writes Philippe Da Costa.

“It is not a question of being catastrophic, nor is it a question of placing all the responsibility on individuals,” specifies Sandra Hoibian. She calls for more “collective proposals”, especially for “that there is more psychological support at the time of these events”. Indeed, between 20% and 50% of people who face these climatic disasters subsequently experience psychological trauma, she recalls.