Restaurant in france sets prices depending on what diners can afford

THE CHARITY RESTAURANT WANTS TO PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS TO MIX BY REDUCING PRICES FOR THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING L’Homme Tranquille in Le Mans looks like any other restaurant, but

there is a difference: here, not everyone pays the same price. There are _clients solidaires_, who can afford to pay full price for a meal, and _clients bénéficiaires_, who pay €1 for a main

or €3 for a three-course meal. The restaurant reopened in October after being bought by the association L’Esprit de Barbara. ‘NOBODY CAN TELL WHO IS WHO’ The association’s director, Samir

Tine, wanted to create a venue where people from all walks of life could mix. “Nobody can tell who is who,” he said. “The food on the plate is the same for the doctor on the next table.” He

even shared more than one example of _beneficiaires_ and full-price clients who have struck up conversations and ended up keeping in touch. “The restaurant is near the station, so people

staying in hotels on work trips often come here to work, and there are some very entertaining conversations.” READ MORE: FRENCH RESTAURANT SCHOOLS OFFER FINE DINING AT REDUCED RATES

CONTINUATION OF WORK IN LOCKDOWN The association was created after France’s first lockdown, when Mr Tine, who worked for Pôle emploi at the time, joined other volunteers in serving meals to

the homeless and to other vulnerable people. After lockdown they wanted to continue, but with a professional chef and waiters. They were on the lookout for an opportunity for a year and a

half before the owners of L’Homme Tranquille said they were looking to retire. READ MORE: FRENCH RESTAURANT WHOSE STAFF HAVE DOWN’S SYNDROME SETS GLOBAL EXAMPLE GET USED TO GOING TO

RESTAURANTS AND MIXING In 2021, the association had launched a _café solidaire_, where people can go for social and professional support, and where they must go for an assessment before

benefiting from the low-cost meals. “The idea is also that somebody who is not used to going to restaurants can start to reintegrate into society. “We have our regulars who come every week.”

Any leftover food is donated to charities, which organise _maraudes_ – rounds where they feed people living on the street. It is also possible to purchase a meal for someone by donating to

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TRANSFORMED INTO A HOTEL