Are you remaining on a US network or getting a foreign SIM?

If you remain on a US network, you'd phone anyone in France just like you would if you were physically in the US (presuming you are on the network and not WIFI calling, not entirely sure if there's a difference, but this is what happened when I was on the T Mobile network).

If you're on a European SIM, it would be the local ##

Thank you for the fast reply! I am not getting a European SIM (I honestly don't even know how to do that, I am technologically stupid - should I do that? How?).

So if I have my US number that means I dial an international code?

yeah, US ## you'd dial the country code and all that (which means you can't dial their version of 911); I do NOT know the French ## for emergencies, sorry.

Thanks anyways! I appreciate your help.

Hi Lisa,

Sorry I cannot offer any concrete answer about dialing an emergency number in France, but,

Perhaps you already thought of this -

If not, I would make up index cards listing all the life-threatening allergies that your children have.

Also include any medications that your children may be taking or may need in an emergency. it is also good to write down the name and phone number of your USA doctor.

Research to see if you can translate the allergies into French; especially the word emergency and life-threatening.

If need be, when you are out and about and an emergency happens, people around can call for you on their phone.

Even though we may think we are in control, in a state of emergency or a panic, we can easily draw a blank with vital information we need to recite very quickly.

I think it doesn't hurt to carry that information in with your passport or your children's passports.

Oh I just thought of something else.

When l was at my hotel in Rome, they had a laminated card with certain vital numbers on it.

Perhaps, once you get to your hotel and check in, you can always ask the desk manager for the emergency numbers.

Thank you so much! You are quite right about losing my mind during a real emergency. I am usually level-headed but not when my children are in danger.

I did get a translated card to carry with me that explains their allergies, but I did not copy out anything regarding necessary steps to take if they have a reaction. I do have some French speaking friends who I could run that by before we leave. Thank you for the good advice!

"but if we're out on our own"

I don't know how far out and about you might be or how you are traveling but if something like this happens will you even know your location? What if your location is in a cell phone dead zone? How will you communicate your situation to a responder?

"but I did not copy out anything regarding necessary steps to take if they have a reaction"

Seems like the above would be a logical place for you to start your preparation.

On public transportation you would have help. If you're renting a car wouldn't the quickest be to just get to the closest pharmacy and get further help there? (And you would have those locations, the names of hospitals and the locations of Urgence services researched already according to your itinerary, right?)

Lisa, you are welcome.

And, I hope that you do not need to use them. Having them will give you some peace of mind.

Have a great trip!

Emergency medical number is 15, police 17.

Read the Travel Tips section on phones when you get bored on the plane. Then when you get to France you can get a local SIM card so you’ll be ready in event there’s an emergency. Of course your phone must be unlocked to use a local card. If you don’t want to use your phone, for peace of mind you could get an inexpensive phone once you land. If you go to an Orange or SFR store, most likely you could get a basic phone and prepaid SIM for under $50.

112

That is the Emergency number Europe-wide. Many countries have legacy numbers which are still supported and advertised (15 and 18 in France, 999 in the UK), 112 was added so travellers do not need to remember a different number in each country.

No prefix needed, 112 from a mobile phone will always get the local emergency service. And you don't even need a SIM card. It is written into the licence conditions for mobile phone operators that they must support 112, it must be free, and it most work even if the phone is blocked, has no credit or even no SIM.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/112_(emergency_telephone_number)

BTW, it will even work in the USA: "112 forwards to 911 on GSM carriers only, including AT&T and T-Mobile"

Chris, are you sure dialling 12 without a prefix would work if the traveler was using a US phone with a SIM from a US carrier? It doesn't seem to me that phones sold for the US market would necessarily adhere to what I assume is an EU requirement.

112 as the Emergency Number is part of the GSM standard, so should apply from a phone anywhere in the world that works to this (or the later versions thereof). This covers nearly 200 countries and territories. The USA networks that do are as above.

Thanks. That's good news.

Thanks so much for the advice, all! Hopefully none of this will be necessary.

My husband's recollection is that in 2014, when I broke my wrist while walking the Coast to Coast Path, he just dialed 990 from an US cell phone.