The town hall of Marseille is launching a donation campaign to help Ukrainians. The Marseillais parade in the village hall of the Old Port to drop off basic necessities from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The collection began on Monday February 28 and should last until Saturday.
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The flow of donors has been uninterrupted since the opening and cs often in Marseille, the marine firefighters are in charge of the organisation. The products brought by the inhabitants are divided into categories and put in boxes as they come.
Donations for the Ukrainian people are beginning to arrive at City Hall.
Once again, the Marseillais demonstrate their solidarity with those who need it most.
Thank you to all of you !#SolidarityWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/GL07tN8O2b— Benoit Payan (@BenoitPayan) February 28, 2022
“We are living through a period of history which, let’s face it, is shocking”testifies a Marseillais who brought soap, toothpaste for children and kibble for dogs. “The least I could do, in any case, was to take part in it by showing an act of solidarity. That’s the minimum.”
Shortly after, a lady brings clothes, batteries, candles, and stuffed animals from her grandchildren. “It’s completely normal. It’s so excruciating. We can’t stay indifferent to that!” But the clothes are not kept. Agnès, a volunteer seconded to the operation, is a little embarrassed to have to send the grandmother away with her bag. “In fact, we don’t want everything”explains the volunteer. “For Ukraine, we don’t need clothes. Above all, we need shower gel, toothpaste, hygiene products, basic necessities.” It is nevertheless pleased with the many donations made since the opening.
The mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan wants “to show the solidarity of the Marseillais and the Marseillaises with the Ukrainian people and with our twin sister of Odessa”. “I had the mayor of Odessa this morning. They need everything”says the mayor after having had his counterpart from the twin city in Marseille in the morning. “They are resisting. They are brave, they are fighting for their freedom, they are fighting for their country.”
“That night, they prepared molotov cocktails, they barricaded themselves.”
Benoît Payan, Mayor of Marseilleat franceinfo
“They are worried because Odessa is a port and it is very strategic for the Russians”, adds Benoît Payan. “We are afraid from hour to hour that Russia will attack Odessa, that it will attack the port and the city”. “But they are ready, they are resisting”, assures the mayor who says he admires their courage. He recalls that there are still a few days “they lived like us” and today they are at war. The mayor says “very proud of the Marseillaises and the Marseillais” because “they are mobilizing for peace and for humanity”.
The town hall of Marseille will not send donations to Ukraine. The products will follow the channel which will be set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.