Parisians are totally shattering the stereotype of French people being rude and disinterested. And they’re doing it with stickers.

Stores in the 11th arrondissement neighborhood of Paris have been putting stickers on their windows to indicate free meals, bathrooms, and other services for homeless people, refugees, and others in need.

The stickers are part of the Le Carillon initiative, started by Louis-Xavier Leca, a resident of the neighborhood whose background is in socially-responsible finance. Leca “felt powerless when [he] bumped into people living on [his] street” and wanted to effect meaningful change, so he approached local businesses in the neighborhood with his idea: to open their doors to members of the community in need.

He quickly realized that some businesses had already been lending helping hands, while others wanted to, but didn’t know where to begin. Armed with stickers, Leca built a partnership of around 70 stores, which now proudly display these badges on their windows. The stickers bear icons indicating which shops people can go to for a free haircut, a place to charge their phones, a glass of water, and other services.

But the stickers don’t just indicate a service, they indicate a willingness to help. They tear down barriers and eliminate uncertainty - people in need don’t have to worry that they’ll be turned away or feel embarrassed about asking for help. The project has been warmly received by the community with paying customers supporting and encouraging the efforts, and some shopkeepers even complaining that they’re not getting enough people coming in for help.

Le Carillon’s success has not gone unnoticed. It recently partnered with the Carrefour foundation, and will be involving some of some Carrefour stores in the initiative.

Last year, France adopted a law aimed at reducing food waste. Approximately 2.8 trillion pounds of food are lost in the harvest and delivery process, or wasted by consumers or retailers that overstock or reject food for “imperfections.” France’s new law makes it illegal for supermarkets to throw away unsold food. The law mandates that the food must be donated to charities or food banks who can distribute it to those who need it instead (alternatively, stores can work with organizations to turn the food into compost or animal feed).

However, it may be difficult for individual local stores to partner with large organizations to do this due to capacity and logistics. Leca’s Le Carillon initiative offers smaller stores a chance to give back without having to partner directly with larger organizations and to have an immediate and local impact.

Though Leca has received requests from other over 100 other French cities to roll out similar initiatives, the project is currently focused on expanding to more districts within Paris by the fall. It hopes to adapt the initiative to London and Belgium in the future.

TopicsCitizenshipHomelessnessFood WasteFranceParisLocal

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Demand Equity

These storefront stickers signal to homeless: free bathrooms, food, haircuts

By Daniele Selby