A firefighter (photo illustration). - DOMINIQUE FAGET / AFP

  • On April 6, the Moselle firefighters were instructed to shave their entire face to guarantee the effectiveness of their FFP2 mask in intervention.
  • Contesting the scientific basis of this instruction, 25 firefighters from Metz refused to shave their goat or their mustache.
  • This episode is part of a showdown that has lasted for two years at the national level.

The soldiers of the fire denounce a “discrimination according to the physical appearance”. Six professional firefighters from Metz lodged a complaint on Friday, and six others on Monday, after their management prohibited them from going on an intervention. Their wrong: refusing to shave their faces. Thirteen other Metz firefighters are in this situation, arrested like them at their home.

How did we get here ? "On March 16, a message arrived from the fire chief of Moselle, who asked to make respect the shaving of the beard to all the firemen, via the heads of barracks center," reports Julien Aquilano, CGT representative and fireman at Metz. In question, the wearing of the FFP2 protective mask, which needs to be applied in contact with bare skin to be effective.

"For more than a fortnight, we had the right to go into intervention"

"We all got down to shaving our beards, without asking questions," said the union representative. But some of us have left mustaches and goats. The FFP2 mask rests on the top of the nose, the contour of the cheeks and descends under the chin. Mustache and goat are inside the mask and do not interfere with its sealing. "

“For more than a fortnight, we had the right to go into intervention with the mustache and the goat. We took care of proven Covid patients, who we transported to the hospital, it did not interfere in any way with the command, ”continues the firefighter. Until April 6. "Our center managers asked for a full shave of the face so that we could go into intervention," says Julien Aquilano. We asked for scientific evidence or even a written note, to no avail. "

Management response

An absence of text from the hierarchy, which, according to the unionist, shows "the illegality of the thing". On the merits, he argues that the ARS "recommends" shaving the beard without this being an obligation. "Shaved or not, we are not a danger to our family, our colleagues or the public", he declares, recalling that the "decree of April 8, 2015 authorizes firefighters to have a trimmed beard".

For its part, the departmental management indicates that "in this unprecedented health emergency period, the Sdis de la Moselle is focusing on ensuring the best aid to our population in complete safety, not only for those caught in charge, but also for the 1,200 firefighters who ensure their protection every day throughout the department ”.

A conflict that goes beyond the department

Seen from the outside, this showdown has something surreal about it. "Seeing 25 firefighters arrested, when our colleagues need us, and we want to help the population in this health crisis, it's hard to imagine, concedes Julien Aquilano. But our manager is trying to pass a rule on shaving under the Covid-19. We will only come back to work if we have the right to keep our goat, mustache or beard. "

This conflict is the new episode in a battle that has been going on for two years in French barracks: in several departments, firefighters are no longer entitled to beards. With, on the one hand, national instructions which accuse the hairs of harming the effectiveness of the breathing apparatuses in intervention, and on the other, bearded firefighters more or less cooperative. Is it up to justice to decide?

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  • Lorraine
  • Firefighters
  • Beard
  • Coronavirus
  • Society
  • Metz
  • Covid 19