While volunteering can take place in a variety of contexts, such as in a political, religious or municipal organization, with one or more individuals, or in a virtual setting, most French volunteers are active in associations. Between 2010 and 2016, the proportion of people volunteering in associations increased. In 2010, **** percent of French people were volunteers, compared to one quarter in 2016. Since then, this proportion has been declining, and reached **** percent in 2022. Who are the volunteers? Over the period from 2010 to 2022, with the exception of 2019, the share of men active in associations was higher than that of women. In 2022, ** percent of men were volunteers, compared with ** percent of their female counterparts.
Regarding the age of the volunteers, it is necessary to wait until the ***** age group to observe a significant increase (nearly ten points) in the share of French people involved in an association. This proportion peaks between the ages of ** and ** (** percent), and remains high until the age of **. Older people are also more likely to participate in volunteer activities on a weekly basis than younger French people. In contrast, only ** percent of people aged ***** were volunteering in an association in 2022. In addition, the higher the level of diploma, the more common it is to volunteer in an association. In 2022, ** percent of people with a higher education degree were involved in an association, compared to ** percent of those with only a baccalaureat, and ** percent of those with a vocational training certificate or a vocational diploma.
Volunteer motivations Feeling useful and acting for others is the main driving force behind volunteers who get involved in unpaid activities as diverse as sports, culture or leisure, humanitarian work, health, social action, defence of rights, defence of the environment and biodiversity, or education. Many are also involved for personal fulfillment or because of the cause they are defending. Moreover, when we look at the expressions that volunteers use to describe their activity, the notions of citizenship and usefulness are the most often mentioned.
In 2022, more than seven out of ten volunteers cited contact and exchange with others as the main source of satisfaction in their activity. Many of them also found satisfaction in the pleasure of being useful and efficient, as well as in the conviviality of the environment.

Interruption of the commitment The study conducted by the IFOP institute in January 2022 revealed that ** percent of the French have once volunteered for an association, but are no longer involved today. Among the reasons mentioned by the latter for having stopped their commitment, the most often cited are lack of time (** percent), change of personal or professional life (** percent), as well as the wish to think more about oneself and one's loved ones (** percent).

Organized by the French Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM), the French Telethon has become the country’s biggest annual charity event since its implementation in 1986. Each year, it takes place over the course of a whole weekend at the beginning of December and is publicly broadcast by France Télévisions, making it a 30-hour TV marathon gathering patients, scientists, volunteers as well as artists. In 2018, the French donated approximately 86 million euros to help battle neuromuscular diseases and other rare genetic disorders.

AFM-Téléthon's social missions in 2018

In 2018, the activities of the association organizing the Telethon reached 112.1 million euros in total, of which 80.9 percent were dedicated to social missions. 54 million were used to help finance finding ways to cure neuromuscular and other rare diseases. This encompasses investing in innovative therapies, pharmacology, fundamental research, as well as general R&D. 34.7 million euros were deployed to help those concerned, e.g. patients and their families, to get access to diagnosis and treatment.

Charity in France

In 2017, the French donated a total of 2.5 billion euros to charity. According to the latest surveys, nearly 10 percent of French respondents stated making donations to associations or foundations on a monthly basis, whereas more than a quarter of the French would make a pecuniary donation once a year.