Specific COVID-19 surveillance has been in place in France since 10 January 2020, 3 days after the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 in China. The first three imported cases of COVID-19 in France, the first ones in Europe, were diagnosed 14 days later, on 24 January. Rapid and effective collaboration between the clinicians (general practitioners attending the cases, emergency hotline clinicians (SAMU-centre 15) and infectious diseases specialists), the National Reference Centre and the regional and national health authorities has played a crucial role in the system’s capacity to quickly detect, isolate and investigate those cases in order to implement adequate control measures. The surveillance system as well as the control measures were adapted from those implemented during past emerging infections that occurred after 2003 (severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), MERS, influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, Ebolavirus disease), and all involved parties were already familiar with the system, which probably favoured its responsiveness.