This is the extraordinary development of contemporary humanitarian and an important page of French social history that Axelle Brodiez-Dolino allows us to (re) read through two inseparable stories, those of Emmaus and the Abbé Pierre Pierre. Read More
Widely regarded as a modern-day prophet, for the people of France the Abbé Pierre personified the revolt against injustice and precarious living conditions. A judicious combination of priest and critic of the Church, he dispensed classic charity and political attack with equal effectiveness.
What was his role and position within Emmaus? How did a tiny band of ragpickers, emerging from the detritus of post-war Paris, become one of the largest NGOs in France, and a significant and highly cost-effective social enterprise?
This book takes the reader behind the doors of Emmaus, an organisation still overshadowed by its founder but otherwise largely unknown. Through its innovative relationship with the poor, its early media visibility, and its unique approach to recycling, Emmaus has breathed new life into the struggle against mass poverty, poor housing, unemployment, social breakdown and debt, and deployed practical tools to combat it. Yet its role as an international movement fighting world hunger and as a religious organisation acting as standard-bearer for social action is still not widely recognised.
Axelle Brodiez-Dolino traces the extraordinary development of contemporary humanitarianism and an important strand within French social history through the inseparable narratives of Emmaus and the Abbé Pierre. This is also the story of the growth and development of a unique multi-national social enterprise, offering new insights into the dynamism behind organisations committed to social change.
PREFACE
An Alternative Model of Enterprise, Charity and Society
INTRODUCTION
Beyond the Founder, the Emmaus Movement
At the Centre of the History of Poverty and Humanitarian Aid
From Charity to Solidarity
From the Rag-and-Bone Trade to a Social Economy. Where Solidarity is Key
I – THE 1950s: FROM THE CATACOMBS TO COLLAPSE
Chapter 1 / A UTOPIAN COMMUNITY (1949–1954)
Abbé Pierre Before Emmaus
The "Catacombs Period"
No Ordinary Association
Winter 1954: "The Uprising of Kindness"
Chapter 2 / THE BLOSSOMING OF NEW ACTIVITIES (1954–1958)
A New Organisation is Created
Housing: A Desperate Situation
The Communities: Planting the Roots
The Running Sore at Noisy-le-Grand
New Emmaus Organisations are Born
Chapter 3 / IMPLOSION (1954–1958)
In the Black Box of the Dark Years
“The Murder of the Father?” (December 1957–March 1958)
II – THE 1960s & 1970s: THE MOVEMENT QUIETLY BEGINS TO THRIVE
Chapter 4 / EMMAUS HLM AND THE RISE OF SOCIAL HOUSING
Balancing the Accounts of Winter 1954
An Organisation Ahead of its Time in the Construction Sector
A Business Begins to Develop
The Social Policy of Emmaus Housing Sites
Chapter 5 / THE COMMUNITIES
COHESION AND DISSENSION
The UCC: “The Ethic of Responsibility” and Development from Within
The UACE: “The Ethic of Conviction” and Centrifugal Development
Liberty, Fraternity and the Independents: the Internal Exit Strategy
1968 and the Community Utopia
An All-Consuming Commitment
Chapter 6 / EMMAUS COMPANIONS OF THE “TRENTE GLORIEUSES” (1945–1975)
The Profile of Community Members
The Community, a Place of Work
The Community, a Place to Call Home
The Community, a Place of Solidarity
The Prost Home: the Debate on the (Re)integration of Companions Begins
Chapter 7 / THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF A CATHOLIC MOVEMENT
Individual Initiatives Blossom
Emmaus International: Uniting Diversity
The Many Forms of Emmaus' International Activity
III – 1980–2000: EMMAUS RETURNS TO THE MEDIA AND THE POLITICAL ARENA
Chapter 8 / EMMAUS BEGINS TO SPECIALISE IN MEETING URGENT SOCIAL NEEDS
Emergency Aid
Accommodation Centres: “From the Street Back to Society”
Professionalisation and Militancy
Chapter 9 / EMMAUS RETURNS TO THE FIGHT FOR HOUSING
From Emmaus HLM to Emmaus-Habitat
The Abbé Pierre Foundation: A New Giant in the Emmaus World
Chapter 10 / THE WORLD OF WASTE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING IN THE FACE OF CRISIS AND COMPETITION
Facing the Social Crisis
The Development of Community Life
The Changing World of Waste Collection and Recycling Puts Communities and Committees to the Test
Supervision and Commitment: Friends and Leaders
Solidarity Begins to Change
Chapter 11 / EMMAUS INTERNATIONAL
A NEW POLITICAL DYNAMO
The Place of Politics is Officially Recognised
Emmaus Organisations Change Shape
Chapter 12 / EMMAUS FRANCE
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLITICAL DISCOURSE
From Abbé Pierre to Emmaus France (1980–1996)
Emmaus France Today (1996–2008)
CONCLUSION
Politics and Religion in the Humanitarian Field
Managing Diversity
Challenges for the Future
APPENDIXES
Emmaus implodes (1954–1961)
The three branches of Emmaus France (2008)