With poverty rates rising across France, Les Restos du Cœur’s current campaign is focused on providing vulnerable women and children, as well as single parent families, with vital support during the cold winter months.

For its 40th annual campaign, Les Restos du Cœur, a nationwide French charity founded in 1985 by the late comedian Coluche, will put all its efforts into supporting mothers, single-parent families and children.

Last year, the charity distributed 163 million meals to 1.3 million people. Among them were more than 128,000 children under the age of three who received assistance in some form – food, hygiene products such as diapers, and the like – from Les Restos du Cœur.

“Our goal is to tackle precariousness at its root—starting with early childhood,” said François Chantrait, the president of Restos du Cœur’s branch in the Alpes-Maritimes, in an interview with France 3.

A specific target of the campaign is mothers, who are often at the forefront of caring for families and are among those most impacted by economic hardship. Many thousands in the region rely on Les Restos du Cœur for essential support as they navigate financial insecurity and fight to ensure that their families have access to basic necessities.

Rising living costs have significantly increased the demand for assistance from Les Restos du Cœur, and the organisation anticipates a further rise this year as more people in France fall below the poverty line. According to the latest figures from INSEE, over nine million people in France live on less than €1,216 per month – 14.4% of the population.

On a positive note, the charity’s ability to build its programmes and initiatives has been bolstered by widespread public and private support in recent months and years. A recent appeal for donations raised €32 million, including a €10 million donation from the family of Bernard Arnault, the owner of luxury group LVMH, and €8 million from the French government.

For more information about Les Restos du Cœur, click here.

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Photo source: Les Restos du Cœur