Who has never dialed 18 or 112 to call the fire brigade? A cyclist knocked down or a roof torn off, firefighters are often THE solution favored by the French when they need help. “We provide 80% of emergency assistance to people,” recalls Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Paul Bosland, president of the National Federation of French Firefighters (FNSPF). That’s one intervention every 6.20 seconds. » A rescue service, as close as possible to the populations, made possible by the network of more than 6,000 barracks, with 198,800 volunteer firefighters (SPV) and 43,000 professional firefighters (SPP), but which could well be upset.
The fault lies with a 2003 European directive which regulates working hours in Europe to guarantee the health and safety of workers. With this text, SPVs were reconsidered as workers. Concretely, combined with their main job, there is no longer any question for volunteer firefighters of working more than 48 hours per week or of going without a minimum daily rest period.
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