You are quite right Paul, there is no 'equivalent' here, safety issues are dealt with at prefecture (city hall) level, probably at the cost of one part-time clerk and a filing cabinet of dossiers of the maimed and deceased. The French just love danger. All best summed up by my wife's favorite expression on the French laissez-faire attitude to risk -
"It can't fall over; there's nothing to stop it!"
Alan
