Weighed down by the economic crisis, French donations down by 18 euros on average in 2026

Weighed down by the economic crisis, French donations are down by 18 euros in 2026, according to the results of the 2026 Generosity Observatory*, produced by Odoxa for Leetchi and revealed by ICI on Wednesday October 28. Also read Fewer donors and fewer donations, the generosity of the French in decline, according to the Solidarité Apprentis d'Auteuil barometer The generosity of the French is declining sharply in a context of economic difficulties: "This 9th edition of our barometer draws the portrait of a France weakened by inflation, in which generosity is changing face", explains the Observatory. The French give less, and differently.

A sign of growing precariousness, more and more people are resorting to donations for everyday expenses. Nearly a third of those under 35 used donations to get by. This study shows three main lessons. Donations are falling among French people who can no longer afford them because of the economic crisis: "After two years of consecutive increases, donations from French people have fallen by 18 euros this year, from 222 euros to 204 euros annually", indicates the study.

One in three French people have reduced their donations and this trend is even more marked in Hauts-de-France (39%), the Center (38%), in Paca (36%) and in Occitanie (36%). Among these people, nine out of ten say they have been forced to reduce their donations. At the same time, due to increasing insecurity, nearly one in five French people (16%), and 28% of those under 35 have had to call on solidarity to get by over the last twelve months and this affects even the most well-off households (11%).

These calls for help in the majority of cases concerned daily expenses such as rent, bills or even food. Those under 35 are both those who have given the most over the last twelve months, with 241 euros on average, and those who have appealed the most for solidarity to get by. Nearly one in four euros collected on Leetchi now goes to a solidarity cause, a gesture of mutual aid with a 35.3% increase in the amounts of donations collected in three years.

More solidarity expected from presidential candidates The prize pools are also becoming a reflex in the face of environmental crises, notes the study, "like the €716,000 collected for the fires in Gironde". French donations are also being refocused on targeted causes or people. Some 71% of them favor donations to people around them in difficulty, 59% to local associations, representing an increase of 5 points, or to a very targeted cause for 54% of them, an increase of 1 point.

Among the causes defended, medical research remains at the forefront for 42% of respondents, followed by child protection for 32% of them, up 4 points and tied with animal protection. Nearly 73% of French people also say that their proposals in the area of ​​solidarity will count in their vote. But for 76% of them, women and men in politics are not sufficiently committed.

Machine-translated from French