French are big on charity but suspicious of donors who give too much
The French gave 7.5 billion euros to charity in 2020 – a record – but despite their own generosity, people are deeply mistrustful of philanthropic donors who throw big money at a cause. Doing it very publicly is even worse, as shown by the backlash against massive pledges to restore Paris's fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral.
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Individual donations to French charities jumped by more than 13 percent in last year, according to France Générosités, which collects data on 56 charities.
Five million households gave a total of 1 billion euros, nearly half of which went towards food aid and social housing for disadvantaged families.
“France united,” tweeted President Emmanuel Macron when the figures were published last week.
#FranceUnie ! https://t.co/pTD6sADJVb
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 20, 2021
Overall, people in France gave 7.5 billion euros to charity last year and the bulk was a mixture of corporate and individual philanthropy, largely made through foundations.
A welcome sum, but a fraction of the 400 billion euros Americans contribute to their charitable causes each year.
“In the US people give back to the community,” says Anne Monier, a researcher at the Philanthropy Chair at ESSEC business school, author of Nos chers "Amis Américains" (Our Dear American Friends).
“There are a lot of major donors and big philanthropists, so elites give to their universities, churches, cultural institutions.”
In France there's a direct relationship between individuals and the state, Monier explains, and the community is less important. This reflects France's so-called social contract where the state keeps control of public interests.
As a result, French people give mainly to “child protection, medical research and poverty” and rely on the government to fully fund the "key values of French culture" namely education, health and the arts.
Listen to the interview with Anne Monier in the Spotlight on France podcast
Tax rebates
Philanthropy is nonetheless growing in France, particularly since the 1980s boosted by what Monier calls "a lot of liberalisation and privatisations", along with changing attitudes towards wealth – meaning it’s no longer considered “tacky to talk about money".
But the biggest boost, Monier says, was in 2003 when a change in law allowed individuals and companies to deduct a percentage of their donations from their tax bill: 66 percent for individuals and 60 percent for companies on donations of up to 5,000 euros or the equivalent of five percent of annual turnover.
“The 2003 Aillagon law was very important,” says Monier. "It’s easier to make donations with this tax déduction.”
Easier, and for big donors, very profitable. France’s luxury group LVMH made close to 45 billion euros in 2020: a potential tax break of 2.25 billion euros.
The people’s money
The linking of philanthropy to tax breaks has cast big philanthropy in a negative light. Lucas Chancel, an economist specialising in inequality, says the donation system amounts to the “privatisation of income tax”.
That sentiment came to the fore following the Notre-Dame fire in April 2019, when close to 900 million euros was pledged within a few days. The millionaire owners of L’Oreal, Kering, LVMH and others made very public donations of between 100 to 200 million euros each.
While the government, strapped for cash, lauded their generosity, others saw it as a cunning transfer of taxpayer’s money.
“When a big donor gives money, for example to Notre-Dame, the tax deduction is the people’s money and some people don’t agree with that,” Monier explains.
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The backlash was considerable, not least because the anti-austerity, anti-government Yellow Vest movement was still in full swing and the issue of increasing social inequality was headline news.
“It was a moment – and that’s still the case today – when there was a huge gap between elites and the people of France, and there was a lot of poverty,” Monier says.
“People saw a lot of money being given to Notre-Dame, while there were also homeless and unemployed people. They were thinking: ‘is this just?’”
Toxic debate
That sense of injustice remains in some parts of the population, and the media tends to fan the flames.
“They only talk about big donors and scandals, whereas philanthropy is way more complex and diverse,” says Monier, referring to both small donors and France's myriad volunteers who donate their time.
And yet the focus remains on the super rich.
“Some people who are really against philanthropy think it’s just rich people giving money to get a good reputation, good image and tax deductions,” Monier says, adding that not everyone sees it that way.
“We shouldn’t think about philanthropy as a dichotomy because there are also good aspects.”
Among the positives, she cites greater flexibility and innovation and the fact private donors can commit to the long term, whereas politicians are limited by their terms in office.
Our American friends
There are also concerns in France that big philanthropy allows companies to side-step democracy and to buy power to influence public policy.
The case of the US-based Gates Foundation, whose multi-billion donations are dictating vaccination campaigns in many under-developed countries, is just one recent example.
“French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu said philanthropy is an exchange between economic and symbolic capital, so you give money and you get recognition,” Monier, who recently co-authored a book on philanthropy and democracy, explains.
Here in France, a number of American philanthropists are making big donations to French culture in particular, “looking for recognition, but also for power”, she adds.
For the moment, the French system limits the power philanthropists can obtain through their gifts. Neither is it standard practice for big cultural donors to get rooms in museums named after them. Though, says Monier, that is starting to change.
Legion of honour
While big donors may not get much power, they can get a lot of prestige.
The Americans were the largest of the foreign donors to the Notre-Dame restoration fund, which may or may not earn them a front row pew when Mass is finally held. But there are other enticing rewards.
“What is very interesting and specific to France is that, when you give large amounts of money, you can get a decoration: the legion of honour," says Monier.
"I met some people who wanted to give to French institutions just to get the decoration ... It’s a very important incentive for Americans because they don’t have the legion of honour in the US.”
Other rewards can include an invitation to dine at the Elysée Palace or Assemblée Nationale. The Ministry of Culture also offers silver and gold donor medals.
“The French still want the state to play a major role in funding because they are afraid that privatisation will lower expectations and also bring a lot of competition between institutions,” says Monier.
“But the state has less and less money, and with the Covid crisis it’s even worse.”
Foreign philanthropy, it appears, is set to grow – if France can keep on minting the medals.
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