Nina Droff, edited by Romain Rouillard 7:58 p.m., November 22, 2022

As the 38th Restos du Coeur campaign opens on Tuesday, the number of additional registrants continues to increase.

The association has even launched several branches dedicated to single mothers with their babies.

Europe 1 went to one of them located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.

REPORTAGE

The Restos du Coeur are launching their 38th winter campaign on Tuesday against a backdrop of galloping inflation and the energy crisis.

Suffice to say that the various centers are not likely to be empty.

The association also has 12% more registered members compared to last year.

Among them, many isolated women with their children to such an extent that branches dedicated to these destitute mothers have been opened all over France. 

In this center of the 1st arrondissement of Paris, where Europe 1 went, a dozen mothers give the bottle to their infants while the volunteers place in front of them things for their offspring.

"We provide milk, nappies, hygiene products, clothes and we provide support. That is to say that each mother is received in an individual interview, we inquire about the follow-up of the baby and there are particular concerns", develops Catherine Bénard, site manager. 

"It goes straight to our hearts" 

To benefit from this support, parents must be registered with Restos du Coeur and have less than 300 euros in income.

In the current inflationary context, there are more and more of them.

"There are approximately 120 mums who are followed by us. There is a major increase in applicants. These are mums who do not have papers and who are housed by the Samu social. We cannot frankly say that the situation is mirobolant". 

>>

READ ALSO

- What is the poverty line?

With her 11-month-old son in her arms, Aïcha is a regular at the place.

For her, the help of this association is essential.

"It's a bit difficult but we are given a little help to help us out. Frankly, it goes straight to our hearts. We have diapers, compotes, milk ...", she lists. 

Last year, these dedicated antennas came to the aid of 110,000 mothers and their babies and expect to help even more during this campaign.

Especially since, from now on, heating costs are part of the criteria used to be eligible for Restos du Coeur.

With rising energy prices, the number of beneficiaries could well explode.