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PS I have now looked up Art. 223-6 of the French Code penal. This provides inter alia that: "...Anyone who voluntarily abstains from rendering assistance to a person in peril which assistance would, without risk to himself or others, he could help by his actions or by calling for assistance from others, will be punishable..."

There are three principal requirements:

1. the accused must know about the danger;
2. The accused must be in a position to act;
3. His action must not pose any risk to himself or others.


The offence would be committed by anyone, a private individual or a medic, on or off duty.

A medic would, however, also be guilty of an offence under the Code of public health, Art. R 4127 of which provides that "'''all medical professionals who find themselves in the presence of a sick or injured person or who, informed about such a p[erson, must render assistance or ensure that he arranges for such assistance to be given..."

The criminal 'actus reus' is the failure to, or abstaining from, rendering assistance to such a person.

Interestingly this provision is relatively 'recent' in that it was introduced by the Vichy government to oblige people to come to the assistance to injured or endangered German soldiers in WW2. The Germans have a similar law called "Unterlassene Hilfeleistung".

And I thought they were supposed to be on our side!

Somehow I feel Europe and the Europeans are a bit flakey when it comes to friendship and I shall be voting to come out. " I would not want to be in a club which would have me as a memberr" (or which its own accountants refuse to sign its accounts a la Arthur Andersen and Enro).