Founded in 1985 by Coluche, Les Restos du Cœur was born against a backdrop of economic crisis and rising mass unemployment, but right from its first winter campaign in Gennevilliers, the French people showed their solidarity in helping the most destitute. 40 years later, the association is still as useful as ever, despite its temporary origins.
For its second photo exhibition, Galerie AFP presents some forty portraitsof these faces of poverty in France in the 1980s and today, from February 27 to April 5, 2025.
These images from the agency's photographic collection, together with objects and facsimiles of documents from the period, illustrate the France of the time, with its homeless, its shantytowns, its broken lives and its incessant demonstrations demanding jobs. But the exhibition also highlights the extent of today's precariousness, with its ever-increasing numbers of"new poor", a situation that has become almost commonplace over time, as Marielle Eudes, director of the AFP Gallery, points out.
The gallery retraces the association's beginnings, from the queues at meal distribution centers and demonstrations for the right to housing, to the creation of the Enfoirés troupe in 1989. 40 years later, over 75,000 volunteers distributed 163 million meals last year, far more than the 8.5 distributed in the first year. Thanks to Coluche's initiative, a law bearing his name was passed in 1989, encouraging donations to associations.
A social and historical photo exhibition that reminds us of the need for solidarity in the fight against food insecurity and exclusion.
Dates and Opening Time
From February 27, 2025 to April 5, 2025
Location
AFP Gallery
9 Place de la Bourse
75002 Paris 2
Prices
Free
Official website
www.afp.com
