Shoebox gifts for homeless in France

Families in France are once again joining forces to bring a shoebox filled with a little Christmas cheer to homeless people.

It is a simple thing - a shoebox filled with little gifts, including perhaps toothpaste, a hat and gloves, as well as some food for a meal, and a little chocolate treat - but it means the festive season is just a little easier and happier for those who receive it.

Operation Shoe Box has been running in the Toulouse region since 2017.

The brainchild of one Nora Filali, it distributed some 1,500 boxes last year, and she is hoping that more well-meaning gifts are dropped off at one of the 22 collection points across the Haute Garonne in 2020.

Boxes are already being handed out in the Pink City. On Saturday, December 12, a young homeless man told Franceinfo, "The fact that people think of us, spoil us, it's super nice," shortly after receiving his goodwill gift.

The collection will continue in Toulouse, and in other cities across the country.