Gestures are still hesitant but the desire to do well is evident. In February, in Montlouis-sur-Loire (Indre-et-Loire), about fifteen apprentice rescuers put into practice the theoretical courses taught a few minutes earlier by the trainers of the Order of Malta. Soazig, an 18-year-old history student, is applying herself alongside the firefighter, who is acting as a actor for the workshop, to administer first aid. Unconscious, the man is breathing but, after intense physical effort, finds himself on the ground, unable to regain his senses. Call to 15, quick health assessment, pulse check, and blood sugar control… everything is scrutinized by the young woman from Touraine.
Around her, the other students of the day witness the scene and take conscientious notes. Praised for her overall performance and reactivity, Soazig will nonetheless receive some advice from the supervisors: “Be careful not to scatter your material too much”, “You took too long to put on the survival blanket, the body cools very quickly in this type of situation”…
Not enough to demobilize her. “My sister took this training and talked about it all the time, it made me want to go, she explains. I had taken other first aid courses before that, but I needed to be more hands-on.”
A civic initiative
Like others, Soazig responded to the call of the Order of Malta, which launched a major recruitment campaign entitled “Being a rescuer is a sport” in December 2023. The foundation’s objective is to recruit and train over 500 rescuers and volunteers capable of covering the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games by the end of April.
It takes six days to train a rescuer in basic first aid in a team of level 1 (PSE1), then four days for level 2 (PSE2). As a member of the “solidarity group” with other organizations such as the Red Cross or the French White Cross First Aid Federation (SFCB), the Order of Malta offers training all over the national territory and will accommodate volunteers during their mission at the Olympics. A strong argument for those who are discouraged by the prices of renting in Paris during this period.
If the mention of the great international sports festival is an additional motivation, it is not the main driver of the aspirants’ initiative. “These are motivated and voluntary people. They mainly want to volunteer. I’m not sure they were more motivated by the Olympic Games. Sure, it’s a special appeal, but why not? It’s a good thing to involve people in an event like this,” says Thomas Hardy, deputy head of the departmental intervention unit of the Order of Malta (Udiom) 37.
Not far from Soazig, Céline, 33 years her senior, also testifies to her interest in the training: “We are a team, with different generations but with the same values, and it creates an osmosis.” “Personal circumstances made me more available and, through a civic initiative, I wanted to be more involved,” says this management controller.
To participate, you don’t need to be a doctor at heart. All profiles, of all ages, are sought. “The only requirement to be a rescuer is physical ability,” notes Thomas Hardy. We don’t ask them to be superheroes, but to be in good physical condition because certain gestures require good hygiene.”
The training of the aspirants sometimes requires breaking certain preconceived ideas about the gestures to be performed or other old wives’ remedies. “Some have training close to the medical world and others don’t, so we adapt and re-establish certain foundations,” summarizes Madeleine-Sophie Le Pivain, rescuer and training manager of Udiom 37.
“Everyone’s experience also allows better care for the victims. The maturity of some and the vitality of others allows this emulation,” adds Thomas Hardy.
From practice to reality
In a gym lent for the occasion by the municipality of Montlouis-sur-Loire, where hot coffee and biscuits delight the trainees during the break, the atmosphere might suggest that a real-life situation is still a distant prospect. But as luck would have it, other volunteers present that day had faced a concrete case the day before. On the national road linking Vendôme to Tours, a man lying on the side of the road, after a confrontation with his intoxicated brother, received first aid from the apprentice rescuers.
“We had a strange preview. The stress factor comes into play, of course, unlike here where we are warm and allowed to make mistakes, but we were surprised that we could intervene and administer first aid, while waiting for the firefighters to take over,” says Laurent, a 42-year-old from Chartres. “Several witnesses were present around the man, one of whom explained that he needed to be placed in the recovery position, while adding that he no longer knew how to proceed. Fortunately, we did”, smiles this employee in the IT sector.
This real-life experience “creates automatism”, according to Laurent. Even in the ideal scenario, he will always be accompanied by someone more experienced than him. “In the field, they will never be alone. At a minimum, they will be in pairs with someone who has a higher diploma,” specifies Madeleine-Sophie Le Pivain. But the idea is for them to be able to handle first aid situations, by this summer.
During the Games, about fifty rescuers will be mobilized each day, and at each site to which the Order of Malta is attached. “We have never mobilized as many volunteers in a given period,” explains Aurélien Chandat, project manager for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games within the Order of Malta France. It’s going to be a great moment. We will also learn a lot from our collaboration with the other associations in the solidarity group, it’s a chance to work together.”
French people are not trained enough in first aid
In 2018, Emmanuel Macron had expressed the ambition for 80% of French people to be trained in first aid by 2022. Today, this objective is only halfway reached, with 40% of citizens trained in life-saving gestures, according to the Red Cross. More alarmingly, only one in ten French people believe they have a good knowledge of these gestures.
The stakes are high. Every year in France, around 40,000 people die from cardiac arrest. “If nothing is done in the minutes that follow, the chances of survival are almost nil,” recalled the French Cardiology Federation last September. According to the National Academy of Medicine, the survival rate after cardiac arrest is less than 10% in France, while it is higher (from 20 to 30%) in Northern European countries.
Training and initiation in first aid gestures are regularly organized throughout the national territory, by firefighters, the Red Cross, and the Civil Protection. Each participant receives a certificate transmitted by the trainer on behalf of the prefect.
