From Soup Kitchens to Truffled Lunches

Les Restos du Coeur

By now it will hardly be surprising to regular readers of this column that Perpignan’s branch of Les Restos du Coeur (there are well over 100 altogether in France) was extremely busy for the three weeks before Christmas. Indeed, it will remain so until the end of March.

Les Restaurants du Cœur (The Restaurants of the Heart), normally abbreviated to Les Restos du Coeur, is the French charity founded by the irreverent comedian Coluche (Michel Colucci) in 1985. Its main purpose is to distribute food packages and hot meals to the needy. Having learned that surplus products cost more to store than to distribute for free to the poor and hungry, Coluche made a plea for the Restos’ cause to the European Parliament in February 1986. His plea was successful and the surplus was later made available, though this has been supplemented by both big supermarket chains, and by private organisations and individuals. This is the Resto campaign’s 23rd season.

Many people living in and around Perpignan are especially in dire need of Les Restos. In the St Jacques quarter of the city, 83% of the resident “gitan” or gypsy community are unemployed, whilst in the city overall (as noted last time), 78% are exonerated totally or partially from municipal taxes. As also noted, the city is capital of one of the poorest Départements in France (Pyrénées-Orientales). Added to this, the P.-O. is unfortunately at the very bottom of France’s 96 Départements when it comes to its Social Action Plan for looking after those over the age of 75. And according to a report by “L’Express” the P.O. gets a rating for the care of this age group of only 7 out of 20 averaged over a range of different indicators.

“More and more applicants in ever greater need and misery.”

That is the essence of the message of Gérard Ollivier, the Resto campaign’s organiser and co-ordinator in Perpignan, where his base is in the suburb of St Assiscle behind the railway station. He was in situ at 6.45am on 4th December in order to be ready to receive pre-enrolled subscribers from 9.00 a.m. : 166 families comprising 500 individuals. At least that was the plan. In the event a further 25 families turned up on the day, though M. Ollivier had fortunately foreseen this likelihood. Some of these grateful souls drank coffee at round tables while others filled their bags with provisions under the supervision of volunteer helpers. There is a rationing system with each client being restricted to six points, and there are two distribution sessions a week.

For many of the continuously impoverished, this year’s hand-out sessions are the latest of many. The same goes for Perpignan’s two other distribution centres in rue Emile Zola (near the centre), and the Haut Vernet district to the north. Indeed, people are clamouring at the doors of the Zola centre well before winter, due to its proximity to the gitan and other ethnic communities.

No less than 570,000 meals were served last year, which represented a 7% increase on the season 2005/2006. And in spite of the generosity of so many, there is always a need for more donations : there are days, for example, when M. Collier does not have enough bread to go round.

And a few miles down the road …

Shortly before sending in this piece, I discovered two other very active Resto centres. One is at the village of St Andre, a few kilometres due west of Argelès-sur-Mer. Not only is food distributed here once a week to some 80 disadvantaged families comprising 173 individuals – single parents, the unemployed, those working part time, and the aged; also on offer are free haircuts by a professional coiffeuse, and free clothes.

And close by, on the Mediterranean’s Côte Vermeille, Les Restos are also doing marvellous things in Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls and Cerbère until the end of March. 22 volunteers have devotedly provided 230 applicants in all with not only basic necessities, but also chocolates, Yule logs (creamy chocolate gâteaux), and toys for the children.

How good it is to read these further heartwarming snippets in our excellent local rag, L’Indépendant.

© 2008 Basil Howitt

Sources:
http://www.restosducoeur.org/
http://www.lexpress.mu/
http://lindependent.com (various issues)
L’Indépendant (various Catalan broadsheet editions)