Restos du Cœur aids 128,000 infants, announces service expansion
The French charity Restos du Cœur, founded by the late comedian Coluche in 1985, has unveiled a significant expansion of its services for vulnerable populations. This as the organisation said it had helped 128,000 children under the age of three between 2023 and 2024.
Patrice Douret, president of the organisation, revealed plans to significantly strengthen their aid for young children, single-parent families, and others struggling with poverty.
The initiative will focus not only on providing food and material resources, but also on fostering social connections and helping families integrate into society.
Douret emphasized that the charity is responding to an increasing demand, particularly from single-parent families, which now make up a quarter of the charity’s beneficiaries.
"This is a reality we can no longer accept," Douret said, calling on the French government to provide more support to organisations fighting poverty, especially in light of the ongoing economic challenges.
At the launch of the new winter campaign, Douret was joined by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who visited the charity’s temporary headquarters in Gennevilliers, north of Paris.
Barnier reassured that efforts to reduce France’s national deficit would not come at the expense of vulnerable populations.
"We must reduce the debt, but I do not want these efforts to impact the most fragile," he said, stressing that the budget for solidarity programs would not be cut.
Finances stabilised
The Restos du Cœur has long been a cornerstone of France’s social safety net, providing 35 percent of the country’s food aid.
This accounts for 14.4 percent of the population.
Read more on RFI English
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