Parisians take first-aid training in case of new terror attacks

3,200 attend two-hour sessions provided by rescuers to learn how to react in emergency situations

By AP 27 March 2016, 1:34 am

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A woman lights a candle near the Cosa Nostra restaurant in Paris, France, on November 20, 2015. (AP/Thibault Camus)

About 3,200 Parisians have attended free first aid training in the French capital to be better prepared for possible terror attacks.

The two-hour sessions provided Saturday by rescuers in every district of Paris aimed to teach participants how to react in emergency situations. The measure was approved by the Paris city council in December in the wake of the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people.

“We must all know the five or six basic techniques that will help protect the population if ever there are other attacks,” said Dr. Patrick Pelloux, an emergency room doctor. Pelloux was also a columnist for Charlie Hebdo and was among the first to arrive at the satirical newspaper’s offices after the January 7 massacre there last year.

Paris plans to repeat the event at least once a year.

“I was so shocked by the attack in Paris, and again this week in Brussels, that I wanted to be able to do the right thing at the right moment, in order not to feel powerless if I ever have to face an emergency situation,” 29-year-old Parisian Aurelie Bois said.

The capital’s firefighters and the French Red Cross have noted a sharp increase in demand for their first aid training programs since the Paris attacks.