Any emergency
112
The European emergency number. Works from any phone, even without a French SIM, and they can take the call in English. If you don't know which number you need, it's this one.
Call 112SOS — If Something Goes Wrong
Nobody plans to need this page. That's why it exists. Save it somewhere before you need it.
Real emergencies
These are free, they work from any phone, and 112 has English-speaking operators. When in doubt, call 112.
Medical
15 — SAMU
Ambulance and urgent medical help. French-speaking first, but they can transfer you — or just call 112.
Call 15Police
17
Police, for anything involving safety, theft, or an accident.
Call 17Fire
18 — Pompiers
The fire brigade — who in France also respond to accidents and many medical calls.
Call 18Deaf or hard of hearing
114
The emergency number that works by SMS.
Text 114Sick, but not 112-sick
SOS Médecins is one of France's better inventions: doctors who make house calls, around the clock, seven days a week. You call 3624, describe the problem, and they either advise you by phone or send a doctor to wherever you're staying — including a hotel room. A visit typically costs about €70–85 at night, less in the day, and you pay on the spot.
It exists precisely for the 2 AM this-is-bad-but-not-an-ambulance situations. Don't tough it out in a hotel room — call them.
24/7 house calls
SOS Médecins
Doctors who come to you, any hour, any day. Phone advice first, then a visit if needed. Call 3624 or book on their site.
SOS MédecinsThe travel did you dirty
Eleven hours folded into an economy seat, a night on a hotel pillow shaped like a baguette, dancing in dress shoes — if your back or neck has opinions about any of it, book an osteopathy session.
Osteopathy is a hands-on physical therapy — joints, muscles, alignment — and in France it's completely mainstream: no referral, no paperwork, you just book a session and walk out feeling like a person again. About €50–70.
Lorea's cousin Zélie is an osteopath here. Call or text her directly: +33 6 58 20 73 08 — she'll take good care of you.
How French pharmacies work
Look for the green cross. Pharmacies here are not drugstores — they're staffed by actual pharmacists who can look at a bite, a burn, a rash, or a fever and either sort you out on the spot or tell you to see a doctor. For anything minor, the pharmacy is your first stop, not the hospital.
Two things to know: most medicine lives behind the counter, so you ask rather than browse — and almost everything is cheaper than you expect.
The catch: pharmacies keep French hours. Nights and Sundays, they take turns — one stays open as the pharmacie de garde, and which one it is rotates every week. Dial 3237 any time to hear the nearest one, or check 3237.fr.
Pharmacie de garde for the wedding weekends — Sunday, September 5th: TBD · Sunday, September 12th: TBD. We'll fill these in the week of the wedding, when the rotation is published.