- French response to Hurricane Katrina
France was one of the first nations to offer aid to theUnited States in the wake ofHurricane Katrina . On the 31 August, French officials expressed their condolences to their American counterparts: PresidentJacques Chirac wrote a letter to PresidentGeorge W. Bush , and the Minister of Foreign Affairs,Philippe Douste-Blazy , wrote to Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice .The U.S. federal government refused French assistance initially, but on the 2 September, Rice said that the U.S. authorities would assess the situation and contact French authorities accordingly. On the 4 September, French assistance was formally requested. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered its disaster relief stocks located in the
Martinique , including 600 tents, around 1000 beds, 60 electrogenic groups, three pumps, threewater purification stations, 1000 foldingjerrycan s, and other supplies.A 35-man team of the
Sécurité Civile fromGuadeloupe and Martinique were ready, including 11 hurricane specialists, and a 60-man "catastrophe intervention" airmobile detachment could be ferried from mainland in a short time. These men are of theMinistry of the Interior .The Ministry of Defence offered two planes already in the hurricane zone, and six more from mainland France, two ships of the
French Navy (probably theBATRAL "Francis Garnier" or "Champlain", and the frigate "Ventôse") and a 20-man emergency medical team.The non-governmental organisation
Télécoms Sans Frontières and the companyVéolia Environnement have offered their services in communications and water management, respectively. TheFrench Red Cross has put 12 logisticians at the disposal of theAmerican Red Cross .Planes were ready from the 5 September, but take-off was delayed by a few dozen hours because the U.S. authorities did not provide information about where they wanted aid to arrive. The French ambassador in
Washington, D.C. insisted that this information be given as soon as possible [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/actu/bulletin.asp?liste=20050906.html#Chapitre2] and the French Embassy issued a number of press releases [http://www.consulfrance-atlanta.org/katrinaus.htm] and a list of governmental and private efforts ( [http://www.ambafrance-us.org/news/statmnts/2005/katrina_humanitarian_aid.pdf PDF] ).On 7 September, an
Airbus Beluga fromToulouse with 12.7 tonnes of material (notably nine tents (25m2 each), 50 tents (4x4m each), 40 cover rollers and 170 8x12m covers, 300 folding jerricanes, kitchen sets) flew to Mobile, after a brief stop in Britain to load more food. 2 CASA airplanes from Martinique landed inLittle Rock the same day, ferrying tents, covers and 1000 rations of food for one day. The equipment was ferried on roads. [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/actu/pointpresse.asp?liste=20050906.html] [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pays-zones-geo_833/etats-unis_471/france-les-etats-unis_1141/relations-politiques_4115/ouragan-katrina-31-aout-2005_22046.html] [http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/300&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en]On 8 September, further requirements were issued by the USA for divers and forensic experts.
On the 21 October 2005, US authorities formally thanked French officers with a reception given at the US embassy in Paris [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/b/eur/55453.htm] .
French victims of Katrina
As of 9 September, no French citizen was reported killed by the hurricane. Assistance was given by the team of the consulate of New Orleans to 40 French citizens.
Two missions were working:
* One mission fromAtlanta was working in Biloxi, Gulfport and Mobile, visiting homes to locate French citizens.
* Another was in New Orleans, attempting to contact any French citizen still there.Furthermore, teams were in
San Antonio andDallas ,Texas to locate French citizens among the refugees. Four physicians were available.The French
consul ate in New Orleans was temporarily moved to Lafayette.ee also
*
Hurricane Katrina disaster relief
*International response to Hurricane Katrina External links
* [http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/francais/interventions/lettres_et_messages/2005/aout/lettre_du_president_de_la_republique_adressee_au_president_des_etats-unis_a_la_suite_du_passage_d_un_ouragan_sur_le_sud_du_pays.31039.html Lettre du Président de la République adressée au Président des Etats-Unis]
* [http://www.ambafrance-us.org/news/statmnts/2005/chirac-katrina_083105.asp Condolence letter from President Jacques Chirac to President George W. Bush]
* [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/actu/bulletin.asp?liste=20050906.html#Chapitre2 Press release from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 September]
* [http://www.defense.gouv.fr/sites/defense/english_contents/news/aid_to_louisiana_disaster_victims_-_sept_6_press_release Press release from the French Ministry of Defence, 6 September]News articles
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/02/national/w140304D15.DTL SFGate: "Countries Pledge Hurricane Aid to U.S.", 2 September]
* [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=acUpts4bRz9k&refer=australia Bloomberg: "Global Aid Offers Pour Into U.S. in Katrina Aftermath", 2 September]
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/katrina.world.aid/ CNN: "U.S. receives aid offers from around the world", 4 September]
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