(ANSAmed) - PARIS, NOVEMBER 20 - For the fifth year in a row, the French government has published a guide for pilgrims heading to Mecca, in order to remind them of some ''indispensable precautions'' to be taken before the journey and on arrival at the site. The guide - of which there are 50,000 copies in French and Arabic - is joint-edited by the Foreign Minister, the Interior Minister and the Economy Minister. It calls attention to the fact that agencies offering journeys to Mecca (one of the five pillars of the Muslim faith, which generally takes place 70 days after the end of Ramadan and this year falls on December 8) must have a licence or authorisation number from the prefecture, and are breaking the law if they do not. Fraudulent operations on the part of such agencies are in fact very common: in just 2007 more than 3,500 pilgrims (out of a total of 30,000 leaving from France) were left behind, despite having paid out their earnings or diligently amassed savings. They never even saw an air ticket. Hundreds more returned dissatisfied with the travel conditions. This problem has recently led the Sos Pelerins association to create the Hajj Academy in Paris. The organisation is dedicated to the Hajj and offers seminars of training and preparation for the pilgrimage. Aspirant pilgrims are taught how to keep themselves healthy and which vaccines are necessary. The information is, naturally, contained in the government's booklet which offers practical information on visas, insurance and useful addresses. (ANSAmed).