Defibrillator in a bank or insurance branch: obligations and organisation

A bank or insurance branch that receives the public is an établissement recevant du public, or ERP (a building open to the public under French safety rules). The obligation to install an automated external defibrillator (AED, known in France as DAE) stems from loi 2018-527 and décret 2018-1186 (French law and decree), and it varies with the category of the establishment.

ERP of categories 1 to 3 have been subject to the obligation since 1 January 2020, category 4 since 2021, and certain category 5 ERP since 2022. Most neighbourhood branches fall into category 5, so you need to check whether yours is among the establishments concerned, depending on its activity and the number of people it receives.

Even where nothing requires it, equipping the branch remains worthwhile. Around 50,000 cardiac arrests occur in France every year, and each minute without defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by about 10%.

Branches have a specific constraint: closed spaces, entrance airlocks, restricted-access areas. An AED kept in an office or behind a counter is useless if a bystander has to look for a key or ask for permission.

The right location is visible from the reception area, accessible without a key during all opening hours, and signposted according to the arrêté du 29 novembre 2018 (French ministerial order). If the branch has an airlock or a waiting area separate from the counter zone, it is better to position the device on the side where the public circulates.

Also consider consistency with the evacuation plan: the route from the furthest point of the branch to the AED must be quick, without passing through a locked door.

Depending on whether the branch is on the ground floor of a busy street, in a shopping centre or on an upper floor of an office building, the answers change. The table below summarises the most common situations.

Maintenance of the defibrillator is the operator's responsibility, under article R. 5212-25 du Code de la santé publique (French Public Health Code). For a branch, the operator is generally the establishment or entity managing the site, and it must appoint a person in charge of follow-up.

In practice, this means monitoring the device's self-test, checking the expiry dates of the electrodes (2 to 5 years) and the battery (3 to 5 years), then planning the replacement of the AED itself, whose lifespan ranges from 8 to 10 years and more. A register in which each check is recorded makes inspections easier.

Do not forget the declaration in GéoDAE, which is mandatory: it allows emergency services to locate your device.

An automated defibrillator guides the user by voice, but the speed of the response depends on how well the teams are prepared. A short awareness session on life-saving gestures lets every employee know how to raise the alarm, perform compressions and fetch the device.

In a branch, think about rotations: advisers, reception staff, the manager, replacements. It is better to train several people per team so that at least one of them is present at every opening.

For a network of several branches, renting simplifies management: it starts from €50 excl. VAT per month, maintenance included. Buying suits a single site whose management wants to control the replacement schedule.

In both cases, the device comes with a 5-year warranty, delivery takes 2 to 5 working days and a quote is provided within 24 hours. France Défibrillateur can price a solution suited to the layout of each branch.