On the frontline during France's terrorist attacks 

One of France’s most illustrious medical schools, the Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, was host to an equally distinguished group of doctors who were on the frontline during January’s attacks, hostage-taking and sieges in Paris.

_{R-L: Professor Jean-Paul Tourtier; Professor Denis Safran; Dr Sergio Albarello (photo: Carlo Zaglia)}

The meeting, which was organised by Editorial Advisory Panel Member Christophe Libeau, was for a joint debrief interview between Crisis Response Journal and the French magazine Soldats du Feu. The final articles – which also include further input from other medics on scene – will be published in forthcoming issues of both publications.

Pictured above, left to right are:

Professor Jean-Pierre Tourtier, Head Doctor of the Paris Fire Brigade, one of the first to arrive on scene at the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and who worked with his colleagues – in an unsecured area, amid dangerous conditions – to save the lives of several victims who had been shot.

Professor Denis Safran, Head of Anaesthesiology /Resuscitation for the Georges Pompidou European Hospital and Health Advisor to the Paris Police Prefecture SWAT team (BRI). Prof Safran was involved in the response to the assault at Porte de Vincennes where Coulibaly had taken hostages and killed several people (click here for video).

‎Dr Sergio Albarello, former Head Doctor for the President of Frane and Health Advisor of the General Directorate for Civilian Safety and Crisis Management (Minsitry of Interior). Dr Albarello worked with Professor Tourtier on victims of the gunmen in the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo.

The wide-ranging interviews will be covered in CRJ 9:4, published June 2015. In the meantime, a report on the multidisciplinary response to the incidents is available in CRJ 9:3