Europe 1 with AFP 11:46 a.m., December 4, 2022

This is more than in 2021: the pledges for the Telethon this year reached more than 78 million euros, after 30 hours of program.

This year, actor and humorist Kev Adams played the role of sponsor of the charity marathon.

Donations can still be made until Friday, December 9.

Returning fully to the field, the 2022 Telethon ended with a counter of more than 78 million euros on Sunday around 2 a.m., i.e. a level of pledges higher than that recorded in 2021 at the end of the broadcast.

After 30 hours of program, 78,051,091 euros have been pledged in total against 73,622,019 euros last year.

Donations can still be made until Friday, December 9 by telephone (3637) or internet (téléthon.fr).

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your solidarity, your generosity," said the president of the AFM-Téléthon organization, Laurence Tiennot-Herment, in a press release.

"It's the Telethon of reunion after two years of frustration. We know the economic situation. There is inflation but also the World Cup (of football) and for all that on the ground it's the party and the reunion Every year, the French renew their trust in us because they see the victories of research," she told AFP shortly before.

Kev Adams, publishing sponsor

Launched on Friday evening, the 36th edition of the charity marathon ended on the night of Saturday to Sunday.

This event was able to return fully to the field this year, with events in more than 13,000 municipalities.

The 2021 edition, which had returned to the field after the 2020 confinement, had collected some 86 million euros in the end, practically at the pre-Covid level.

The counter remains open for some time after the event.

Saturday evening, alongside comedian Kev Adams, the godfather of the edition, many artists were alongside families, patients and researchers on the France Télévisions set.

After the first advances, for example against immune deficiencies, the work funded by the Telethon targets more complex pathologies, such as neuromuscular diseases.

Three years ago, a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a disease which condemned babies to an early death, was thus put on the market.

Beyond rare diseases, which affect approximately 3 million people in France, the innovations resulting from research supported by the Telethon also inspire therapeutic solutions for widespread diseases such as neurodegenerative pathologies or cancers.