Advance instructions

Any adult can, if he/she wishes, write instructions in advance in case he/she is unable to express his/her will at the end of his/her life. These instructions indicate the patient's wishes regarding the conditions for limiting or discontinuing treatment. They will be consulted before medical decisions are made and their content takes precedence over any other non-medical opinion. They have to be renewed every three years but, in the interval, can be revoked or modified at any time. If you want your instructions to be taken into account, please inform the physician who will take care of you in the hospital: give them to him/her, tell him/her about them and give him/her the contact details of the person who holds the instructions.
[see Article L.1111-1 1 of the French Code of Public Health - February 2016]