Everdrone launches first drone-based EMS in France

Key facts

• Normandy is the first French region to integrate AED‑carrying drones into its emergency dispatch chain.
• Everdrone’s DEMS is operational in the Forges‑les‑Eaux area, delivering automated external defibrillators to suspected cardiac arrest sites.
• Deployment aims to reduce time-to-defibrillation in rural or traffic-constrained areas while remaining coordinated with ambulance services.

2 minute read

Everdrone has activated its Drone Emergency Medical Services (DEMS) in Normandy, representing the first time drone-delivered automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have been embedded into France's formal emergency dispatch system. The service, operational in the Forges‑les‑Eaux area, enables dispatchers to task AED‑capable drones alongside ambulances to suspected cardiac arrest incidents, with the explicit goal of shortening time-to-first-shock where ambulances are delayed by distance or traffic.

This deployment moves beyond demonstration projects to an operational model that requires coordination across airspace authorities, emergency medical services and local health officials. For European policymakers, the Normandy rollout is evidence that regulatory pathways and local partnerships can support medical drone services. Yet practical challenges remain: ensuring safe beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, integrating drone telemetry and location data into existing dispatch systems, and preparing bystanders to retrieve and use delivered AEDs.

If subject to rigorous performance measurement, the Normandy program could shape national and EU best practices on drone EMS, procurement criteria for operators and technical standards for interoperability. The initiative is likely to be watched by other French regions and EU members considering how to scale drone medical services from pilots to mainstream public-response tools.

Source: DRONELIFE