Coluche - a French comedian and actor - infamous for his ireverent 'everyman' routine passed away in 1985 in a motorcycle accident. This 'mec' who wore overalls and a yellow Tshirt in his act lived life in the fast lane and broke a world speed motorbike record of 252 km an hour. He was 41 when he died in 1986. But his legacy lives on in the foundation he began, Les Restaurants du Coeur. In a famous radio interview Coluche gave less than a year before his death he said "I have a little idea..." which gave way into a charity that helps more than 600,000 people a day providing food and clothing for the needy and homeless.
Coluche, in his act, left no establishment or person safe from his barbed comments. He once said, "Your father doesn't work, like mine, so he's a Fonctionaire right?' meaning those government employees hired for life in the French system who basically do nothing and can't be fired. Coluche, to many, was the voice for the forgotten and the ignored in the system. His novel idea, for the Socialist government, of this private foundation recruited 40,000 volunteers who help in almost 2,500 Restos. Every year there's a gala fundraiser, with a group of famous celebrities known as les Enfoires, the assholes, who keep true to Coluche's humor and raise tons of money for les restaurants des Coeur.
The cold weather in Paris makes life hard for the SDF, sans domicile fixe, or homeless. I took this shot in Place des Vosges in the Marais, one of the most exclusive addresses in the City of Light. I hope this SDF got to one of Coluche's resto's that night.
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It's a wonderful initiative - although I have helped out there, I had no idea who was behind it, so thank you for sharing this with us!
ReplyDeleteMarina, good to hear from you and I applaud that you've helped out at the restos. They need more volunteers like you these days!
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