Les Marinières en Rose marked its fifth edition with a record-breaking weekend in Villefranche-sur-Mer, with 800 participants coming together and raising €15,000 for Monaco’s Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace (CHPG).
Held on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October as part of Pink October, the charity event saw a significant increase in participants from the 500 who took part in 2025, while fundraising increased from €11,000 to €15,000. The results meant that founder Patricia Plessis’ goals of 800 participants and €15,000 raised were reached.
For Plessis, this level of growth carries major significance. “I’m very moved because I started this event after a friend of mine passed away in 2022,” she revealed to Monaco Life. “We began with 70 people, and this year we are 800. It’s wonderful. We’ve multiplied the number of participants by ten in five years, and as a result, we’re able to give much more to help women.”
Throughout the weekend, participants of all ages took part in open-water swimming, a solidarity walk, and a children’s race, highlighting the idea of “solidarity before performance”.
Villefranche-sur-Mer Mayor Robert Capelier and President of Century 21 Lafage-Transactions Benjamin Mondou were also present throughout the weekend, highlighting their support for the initiative.
SUPPORTING WOMEN BEYOND TREATMENT
100% of funds raised through the event are donated to the CHPG to help finance supportive care for women undergoing cancer treatment. Services that are not reimbursed include yoga, massages, music therapy, wigs, and more. Plessis stressed that the initiative aims to bring people together around a disease affecting many. “We are all concerned by this, so we should all come together to fight it,” she said.
This year’s contribution brings the total amount raised by Les Marinières en Rose to €40,000 since its creation in 2022. What began with just 70 participants in memory of one woman has grown into an event bringing hundreds together every year to show support for women undergoing cancer treatment.
Click on the gallery for more images of the event…
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Photos credit: Didier Ours