Water sports

196: it's the marine emergency number

Publié le 24 juin 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Are you a witness or a victim of a problem at sea? To call for help from the coast, call the 196 emergency number, which is free of charge from a landline or mobile phone and is available 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. If you are on a boat, use your VHF radio, channel 16 first.

Who to contact in case of an emergency at sea?

  • You're on the shore facing an emergency at sea : priority should be given to calling 196, the free national emergency number dedicated to rescue at sea.
    The 196 can alert the Regional Operational Marine Surveillance and Rescue Center (Cross) closest to the call. Placed under the operational authority of the maritime prefects, the Cross are part of the interregional sea directorates (metropolis) and the sea directorates (Overseas), also responsible for conducting the maritime policies of sustainable development, resource management and regularization of activities at sea.
  • You're on a boat : you must use your VHF (very high frequency) radio, channel 16. This mode of contact is to be preferred at sea because it allows rapid localization. You are put directly in contact with the Cross, which can facilitate their search.
  • You are on the coast, facing an emergency on land (on the beach, on the rocks...) : call 18, emergency number to contact the fire brigade or 112, european emergency number, free of charge from landline or mobile.

Please note

If you lose material at sea (wing of cyteboard, paddle, diving buoy, brassiere, etc.), warn the Cross so as to avoid triggering unnecessary search operations.

FYI  

The telephone operators make the caller's location data available to the emergency services by a secure method.

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