The sad figures from the Restos du Coeur on the children helped

For its 40th distribution campaign, the Restos du Cœur intend to "prioritize the most vulnerable groups ;rables”. The numbers of children assisted by the association are heartbreaking.

This is “another increasing figure”, deplores the association founded by Coluche: 128,000 babies aged 0 to 3 were “supported” during the 39th Restos du Cœur campaign, an increase of 1.6% compared to last year. But considering the latest report from the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) on inequality among the youngest, this statistic is far from surprising. Indeed, out of the 20,000 French children surveyed, one fifth say they do not eat three meals a day. Enough to largely justify the decision of Fabrice Douret, the president of the association, to “prioritize the most vulnerable groups, in particular single-parent families and children under three years old”.

The number of single-parent families using food distribution has increased significantly, reaching a quarter of the association's beneficiaries. Among them, 40% were under 18 years old. This means that nearly 500,000 minors, children or adolescents, are among the beneficiaries. Let us add that 10% of those receiving assistance are between 18 and 24 years old, 43% between 25 and 59 years old and 8% over 60 years old. In total, the Restos du Cœur, which provide 35% of food aid, welcomed 1.3 million people between 2023 and 2024, a stable figure, coinciding with the data from the previous campaign.

A surprising constant considering the new restrictions brought by the association. For the first time in 40 years of existence, it was obliged to modify the level of income giving entitlement to food aid to compensate for the scale of its forecast deficit. As a result, only 163,000 meals were distributed in the years 2023-2024, compared to 171,000 in 2022-2023. In total, they have “refused” food aid to more than 110,000 people who would have been entitled to it under the previous criteria”.

The renaissance of the Restos du cœur

Faced with the scale of its logistics and food expenses, the association had to sound the alarm by launching an appeal for donations. A wave of solidarity spread among the French, who contributed 32 million euros, 10 million of which was provided by the family of Bernard Arnaud, the owner of the LVMH group. As for the state, which usually provides 15% of the association's budget, donated 8 million euros. By responding to the call, the French have enabled the Restos du Cœur to improve its treasury. In addition to the application of rights restrictions, they have gone from a forecast deficit of 35 million euros to a surplus of 22 million euros.

Even if a return to the 2022 level of activity is unlikely, Patrice Drouet has already announced reopen “a certain number of social action taps”. The launch of this 40th campaign is therefore placed under the sign of celebration, with the return of the éphémére marquee which had hosted the very first campaign. Located in Gennevilliers, north of Paris, it has already received a visit from the Minister of Solidarity Paul Christophe and the Prime Minister Michel Barnier. During his speech, the latter was full of praise for the volunteers and employees of the Restos du Cœur: “They are the honour of the Republic”, he said.