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Free first aid course takes just one hour
Until September 8 local branches of the charity La Croix Rouge are offering free one-hour first aid courses in a bid to save more lives, especially in the case of heart attacks.
According to the charity too few people know basic first aid or how to operate a defibrillator; as a result only 8% of victims of major heart attacks survive in France compared to 40% in Sweden where the population is trained in first aid.
The Eté qui sauve (summer life saving) scheme includes 60-minute first aid courses (30 minutes for children) and a 50-minute course on reducing risks in disaster situations.
Training sessions are on offer daily at Paris Plages on the banks of the Seine and at the La Villette Canal Basin; elsewhere people should contact local branches for details (see croix-rouge.fr/Pres-de-chez-vous).
