A ‘First’ in France: Installation of a defibrillator in a street furniture panel in Boulogne-Billancourt

Based on an idea jointly developed by the RMC/BFM Association and JCDecaux, the world’s No.1 street furniture company has successfully installed an automated external defibrillator in a MUPI® city information panel. This first street furniture unit equipped with a geo-positioned defibrillator in France will be installed in the Grand-Place plaza, opposite number 100, Boulevard Jean-Jaurès in the western Boulogne-Billancourt suburb of Paris. A total of 10 MUPI® will be fitted out with these devices in 2011.

This ‘first’ will be celebrated on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 12 o’clock midday, in the Grand-Place plaza of Boulogne-Billancourt, in the presence of Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Minister of Health and Sport in the French government, and Pierre-Christophe Baguet, the parliamentary deputy and mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt.

More than 40,000 people die every year in France from cardiac arrests outside hospital. In France, the survival rate is just 2 to 3%, a statistic that compares unfavourably with the survival rate of more than 20% in Seattle, USA, where defibrillators are widely available on public highways. Since a decree dated May 4, 2007 was adopted in France, anyone – even if not trained as a doctor – may use a defibrillator.

For Isabelle Weill, president of the RMC/BFM Association, “it is essential that local authorities should install defibrillators accessible to the general public because in the case of an emergency a rapid response is, quite literally, vital! After the first 4 minutes, every additional minute represents a 10% reduction in the victim’s chance of survival.”

Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and co-CEO of JCDecaux, made the following statement: “In its dealings with local communities, JCDecaux offers a range of street furniture that improves the quality of urban life in areas related to public transport, communications, and information and – from now on – in the area of public health. Thanks to what represents a ‘first’ in France, the Group is helping to promote greater civil responsibility.”

For Pierre-Christophe Baguet, parliamentary deputy and mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt, “this initiative, which puts health at the very heart of the city, corresponds to a solidarity-based approach that shapes our desire to live together as a community. It is a great source of pride for everyone living in Boulogne-Billancourt.”

Press Contacts:

Association RMC/BFM – Jennifer Palmer: 33-1.71.19.14.60 (jpalmer@associationrmcbfm.fr)

JCDecaux – Agathe Albertini: 33-1.30.79.34.99 (agathe.albertini@jcdecaux.fr)

Boulogne-Billancourt – Anne-Laure Jardon: 33-1.55.18.48.66 (anne-laure.jardon@mairie-boulogne-billancourt.fr)