Black Friday shopping arrives in France as Restos du Cœur charity begins its winter campaign - three cheers!

Something of an obscene paradox occurred here in France at the end of last week.

A good ol' US export in the shape of "Black Friday" crossed the Pond and arrived in France.

Hurrah!

Black Friday shopping arrives in France (screenshot France 3 news)

Nope, there's nothing wrong with that, even if the concept seems a little out of place in a country in which sales (or soldes) - the time when retailers slash prices and shoppers can pick up a bargain or two - are carefully regulated, although there's an extension as of 2015 in the length of time of the traditional winter and summer sales from five to six weeks.



Even if the French don't celebrate Thanksgiving (yet - but who knows) the arrival of Black Friday shopping to these shores is perhaps another reminder of the influence the US has on popular culture and the importance given to consumerism especially in the run-up to Christmas - whatever the cost.

That's neither a bad thing nor a good one - depending on your perspective. And it wasn't the obscene paradox in and of itself.

Because that lay elsewhere - and it hardly raised a Gallic eyebrow and certainly little comment within the media.

Just as chains such as Darty, Auchan, Fnac and Casino decided to join in the "festive fun" of encouraging the public to spend whatever money they might or might not have on Christmas shopping, a more established event was underway.

Outside supermarkets up and down the country, volunteers from the charity Restos du Cœur were busy collecting non-perishable goods from shoppers as part of the 30th annual winter campaign (that had begun on Monday of the same week) to provide food packages and hot meals to the ever-increasing number of French needy in need of such help.

Ah well.

That was last week. And France (just as life - how philosophical) is full of contradictions.



This coming weekend the French will be in for yet another paradox which seems to have become common practice.

Some television celebrities such as game show host Nagui back in 2010 have questioned why it is allowed to happen, but those calls fell on deaf TV executive ears and even deafer event organisers, it appears.

Public television - and in particular France 2 - will be in full charitable mode raising money, just as it has done every year since 1987, for the L'Association française contre les myopathies, (the muscular dystrophy charity) with the Téléthon.

Meanwhile TF1 will broadcast - just as it has for several years - the election of Miss France as  33 candidates compete in Orléans to succeed last year's winner Flora Coquerel.

Black Friday shopping and Restos du Cœur are as much a match made in heaven as Miss France and the Téléthon.

France is reminded that charity really can begin at home

For many Christmas and the run-up to the holiday season is a time of course just as much about "giving" as "receiving".

And the French have had a reminder of that this weekend with an idea, that although it is far from being unique to this country, also serves as a lesson as to how easy it can be to help those who are less fortunate.

Up and down the country, anyone popping along to their local supermarket to do their weekly shop over the past couple of days will have been handed a leaflet as they entered.

Printed on it was a list of non-perishable items, such as rice, pasta, baby food, tinned vegetables and so on.

Shoppers if they wished, were invited to simply add to their baskets some of the suggested items as they went around, pay as usual at the checkout and then drop them off at collection point before leaving the supermarket.

It was all part of a campaign organised annually in the run-up to Christmas by this country's "banque alimentaire" or food bank.

The first food bank in France dates back to 1984 - set up on the same model that exists in north America.

Running for two days, over 90,000 volunteers were on hand this year to collect non-perishable goods donated by shoppers, and the hope of the French federation of food banks is that this year's collection will have yielded the same sort of generosity as 2007.

Last year volunteers collected a record of almost 10,000 tonnes of foodstuff (or the equivalent of more than 20 million meals - or 14 per cent of the federation's annual distribution) over the same two day period.

Although the hope is to have collected even more this year, the worry has been that the credit crunch and belt tightening - in France as elsewhere - will have discouraged people from making a donation.

That was a particular concern for the president of the French federation of food banks, Alain Seugé, going into the two days.

He said figures show a record number of people have already used the services of the food bank this year - 100,000 more people than in 2007.

And that number coincides with a change in the "profile" of the people dependent on help.

"When they were created back in 1984 the idea was to distribute food to those on the periphery of society and meet their needs - the homeless or immigrant families with few means," he said.

"Today around 15 per cent of those we're helping are actually in employment, and that compares to just nine per cent a couple of years ago," he added.

"There has also been an increase in the number of pensioners and unemployed dependent on some sort of help from the food bank."

That's also the view backed up by another organisation, Restaurants du Cœur (or Restos du Cœur as it's more commonly known here) which will be starting its big Christmas push on Monday.

It's a charity relying on donations, and was set up in 1985 by the late comedian Coluche, to provide free meals and distribute food packages to the needy.

Over the years it has become something of a national institution here in France, with over 100 regional and autonomous branches springing up throughout the country, and similar affiliates being launched in neighbouring Germany and Belgium.

Every January actors, singers, musicians and personalities from the world of French show biz get together for a televised concert with the proceeds from the sale of the CD and DVD all being ploughed back into the cause.

Even before this year's campaign begins in earnest, the president of the charity, Olivier Berthe, is warning that it's going to have its work cut out meeting the demand.

"The campaign hasn't been launched and already there has been an increase of between 5-10 per cent over the same period last year of people seeking help," he said.

"In particular there has been an increase in the number of elderly, young and single parent families who have registered for assistance," he added.

"We're even seeing some groups, such as farmers, who are having a hard time - and we rarely see them.

"If we don't manage to mobilise enough donation - in France as well as the rest of Europe, we'll just not be able to manage."