Collections of clothes, accommodation in private homes, donations to associations… Everywhere in France, citizens are committed to helping the Ukrainian people. A “wave of generosity” rarely equaled. Then comes a question: why does this conflict and its consequences affect us so much?
According to the World Giving Index, France is far from being the corner of the world with the most philanthropists. In the ranking of countries where residents are most likely to donate money to charities, France ranks 83rd out of 140. According to another study, this time commissioned by the France generosities union, aid to war victims is only the 15th cause most favored by the French.
However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the major solidarity associations have collected tens of millions of euros in donations. The Fondation de France alone has already collected nearly 9 million euros from 90,000 donors. The French Red Cross raised 8 million euros during an evening concert on March 9. “We have never experienced such a mobilization for one hundred and sixty years”, rejoiced its president Philippe Da Costa. Same observation at the Secours populaire: “It goes beyond what we have been able to know for many years”, confirms Thierry Robert, the national secretary of the association.
All generations combined
“The French have been very responsive, there is a real wave of generosity,” testifies Frédéric Théret, director of development at the Fondation de France. If the “rhythm of the donation is less strong” than since the beginning of the conflict, it remains “continuous” according to him. So much so that many collections launched for three weeks had to stop, given the magnitude of the food received.
This outpouring of solidarity can be observed in all sections of the population. “The donations are distributed throughout the territory. 75% of those who give have never given to the Fondation de France. We have young people who give 5 euros by SMS and others who send 5,000 euros”, notes Frédéric Théret.
“It transcends generations,” agrees Antoine Vaccaro, president of Cerphi, an institute dedicated to the study of philanthropy. According to this fundraising specialist, those aged 80 and over usually tend to turn to so-called traditional causes, those aged 60-75 to medical research and those under 35 to health protection associations. planet. However, “a cause like Ukraine erases everything”.
A “hierarchy of generosity”
Why ? Because “all the circumstances for people to mobilize are met”, believes the researcher. The feeling of helplessness is mixed with the stupefaction of seeing a war unfold at the gates of the European Union. “Russia’s aggression reminds us of the dark hours of Sovietism or Hitlerism,” analyzes Antoine Vaccaro.
“It had been the same thing in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, but the solidarity is even stronger for Ukraine because we feel concerned”, continues the president of Cerphi, who evokes “a phenomenon of adhesion to what looks like us “. “When Putin devastated Chechnya, we did not move because it was sold to us as a nest of terrorists. When Aleppo was razed, we didn’t move either. There is a hierarchy of generosity, that’s for sure.
Unhappiness is blind and generosity unjust.
Antoine Vaccaro
Conversely, Antoine Vaccaro cites the example of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, which generated 288.6 million in private donations in France according to the Court of Auditors. A vast mobilization which is explained, in part, by the death of Western tourists with whom the French have identified.
After emotion, the quest for meaning
According to the researcher, the health crisis is also not unrelated to the significant mobilization that we are currently witnessing: “We have barely emerged from a slump that lasted two years, we had the impression of seeing the end of the tunnel but here we are embarked on a new disaster. We are more generous in misfortune than in happiness.
How long will this last? When “the phase of indignation will have passed”, answers Antoine Vaccaro. And even if the war in Ukraine monopolizes the attention, he is convinced that the other causes “will not be neglected”. “From experience, there is no principle of communicating vessels, abounds Thierry Robert, it is an exceptional impetus because it is an exceptional situation”. For the national secretary of the Secours populaire, the challenge now is to “give meaning to this movement and not just spontaneity and emotion”, by thinking today about the lasting consequences of the conflict.