[Rules for psychiatric emergency hospitalization]

The author describe how psychiatric emergencies are dealt with in France. Emergency rooms can admit these patients 24 hours a day particularly somato-psychiatric emergencies as well as situations of existential crisis. Many psychiatric hospitals have also designed a 24 hours a day response to emergencies but with a great diversity depending on local situations. Free-will hospitalization is the most common response but some situations can require commitment to a psychiatric hospital. The author describes in details the enforcement of the law in the case of hospitalization without patients's consent.