Civil security

The civil security is the whole of the means implemented by a State to protect its Citoyen S, in time of war as in times of peace.

The term civil security is not an exact synonym of Civil protection: the civil security is a kingly Fonction of the State, while the Civil protection indicates in France at the same time this mission of help and an association of first-aid workers which has a relatively similar logo.

In the philosophy of the Lights, the protection of the citizens against the accidents and the calamities (natural disasters, epidemics…) is one of the functions of the State. This is marked besides in the Déclaration of the Human rights and the Citizen of 1789, which is annexed to the French constitution :

Article 2 - the goal of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of the man. These rights are safety.
This point was included in the Universal declaration of the Human rights of the UNO, whose are signatories the majority of the countries;
Article 3 - Any individual is entitled to the life, the freedom and the safety of his person.
This thus gathers initially the fight against the calamities and the natural disasters, the sensitizing and the information of the general public, but also the organization of health to the daily newspaper: training of health professionals, creation of structures of care accessible to all.

This concept took a particular orientation with the modernization of the war, and in particular the bombardment of the Second world war. In particular, France set up a civil Defense, whose role consisted in ensuring alarm the populations in the event of bombardment (siren), information to the measures to be taken (site of the shelters) and evacuation of the cities.

The concept of civil security became particularly important extensive in second half of the 20th century, with the Cold war (and in particular the nuclear risk), like with the multiplication of the industrial risks (in particular chemical risk, civil nuclear installations, pollution) and of the risks related to transport (road accidents, air transports, transport of dangerous and radioactive matters). To the natural risk and the risk related to the war the risk related to the “normal” human activity is added.

Usually, the civil security of a country includes/understands public helps (of which the firemen and hospitals), a network allowing to call these helps (in general by telephone), a network inspection of calamities or accidents identified (for example epidemics, rise of water, dryness, great cold, Séisme, or railroad air crash, pile-up, pollution, radiological risk, chemical accident…), of the associations the voluntary ones (First aid, humanitarian aid, social security), and action plan in the event of catastrophe with a management of assembled in power of the device (evaluation of the situation, reinforcements for example of the Armed and associations, sirens to prevent population, radio operator public service to maintain informed the populations).

Essentially, the civil security is interdepartmental.

In the majority of the countries, the symbols of the civil security are:

  • the Triangle, symbol of stability;
  • the orange (visible color by far under bad weather conditions) and/or blue (color of peace).

Examples of logos of organizations of civil security

The civil security in France

In France, the term “civil security” is used in:

  • the name of certain units of the Army (being part of the component safety of the weapon of the genius): the units of instruction and intervention of the civil security (UIISC) which depend on Comformisc (Command of the Milliary Formations of the Civil security), the Brigade of firemen of Paris (BSPP) and the Bataillon of sailor-firemen of Marseilles (BMPM) are also military units;
  • the name of the service of the ministry for the interior, direction of defense and safety civil (DDSC), in charge with the firemen, associations of first aid and also having the forces of Comformisc.

When one speaks about “the civil security”, one refers usually to the UIISC; but the term is sometimes used by error by the journalists to appoint the voluntary first-aid workers of the Civil protection.

The pivot of the civil security in France, they are the firemen for the part risks, fight against the calamities and first aid with anybody, and the Samu for the pre-hospital medical assumption of responsibility.

The network of day before is based on independent public agencies (the directors are named for several years, normally without possible revocation):

  • Afssa : French Agency of public health of the food,
  • Afssaps: French Agency of public health of the health products,
  • InVS: National Sanitary Surveillance Institute,
like on the general doctors, with notifiable diseases (anonymous census of the cases, as for the AIDS, the hepatitises, Lead poisoning, infections nosocomiales, Légionellose, Salmonellose…) and of the networks of day before like the Network Sentinels for the influenza, which also functioned for atypical pneumopathy (Sras).

France has many associations of first aid: national about fifteen associations or national federations, whose activity is dedicated to the First aid or whose activity requires a formation with first aid (sports at the risk).

Let us note that the law defines the actors of the civil security in a restrictive way as being:

  • firemen,
  • voluntary first-aid workers,
  • air means (Helicopter S of the civil security, Planes bombers of water),
  • civil and military formations (like the UIISC),
  • bomb disposal experts,
  • the public services (of which the police force, the army, health care institutions…),
  • of the private means (oil industries, airports…).

National coordination and zones of defense

On the level of the department, the civil security is managed by the Préfet. This one can start the emergency plans, and activate an crisis cell or departmental operational center (COD) which is composed of eight cells:

  • cell law and order,
  • cell protection of the populations,
  • military cell,
  • cell telecommunications,
  • economic cell,
  • cell communication (Media),
  • cell support,
  • cell synthesis and communication.

In order to facilitate the pooling of means between the departments, France is cut out in zones of defense. In a zone, the means are managed by a staff of zone (EMZSC), in an operational center of zone (Coz, in the past interregional center of coordination of the civil security, Circosc). The metropolis is cut out in seven zones:

  • Northern zone (staff of Lille),
  • Western zone (staff of Rennes),
  • zone Paris (staff of Paris),
  • zone Is (staff of Metz),
  • South-western zone (staff of Bordeaux),
  • South-eastern zone (staff of Lyon),
  • Southern zone (staff of Marseilles, located at Valabre).

The situations requiring the collaboration of several zones are managed by the operational center of interdepartmental management of the crises (Cogic, in the past Codisc, operational center of the direction of the civil security, then COAD, operational center of decision-making aid), located at Asnières-sur-Seine.

External bonds

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