Security and Public Safety Studies (ESSP) were made compulsory in France in 2007, based on situational prevention theories. This has meant that such studies – with their parameters laid down by law – have to be undertaken in the following cases:

• the granting of planning permission for public works of certain categories in urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants,
• all projects issuing from the National Agency for Urban Renovation (ANRU),
• a certain number of school projects,
• all projects covering more than 70,000 sq.m. in these same areas.

These studies must include an assessment of the current state of affairs, an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the project, and recommendations designed to limit the identified risks to the project in its particular environment.

The purpose of this is to anticipate the structural risks that may bear on the project’s environment and to anticipate the level of protection that the environment demands of the project. Beyond mere construction aspects, ESSPs often provide something that is rarely possible at the planning permission or renovation stage: the occasion to anticipate the use that will be made of the facilities and to integrate the whole security process, from the construction stage to the intervention of emergency services.

Because of its experience, its reputation and the number of structural projects that it has worked on, AFL Conseil is today a trustworthy partner for investigating authorities and an effective service provider for decision-makers.