A project to open bistrots in care homes has been credited with establishing a much-needed social life for residents.
The Bistrot Bertha association is the brainchild of Antoine Gérard, who opened the first bistrot in a French care home in 2024.
“Care homes are well-equipped medically, but socially deprived. Residents have access to care, meals and security, but almost nothing resembling a normal social life,” he said.
“It accelerates cognitive decline, increases the risk of mortality, and destroys quality of life.
“Yet the standard response in care homes is to offer structured activities (yoga sessions, memory workshops) that help some residents but leave many others behind.”
Creating a social life
What was missing, he realised, was a permanent place where residents could enjoy a more informal social life.
“That’s what a bistrot is: a place you go to because you feel like it, not because it’s on the schedule. So we created one. Then another.”
Some 15 bistrots are now open, with another eight due to open by autumn.
Each has its own identity and many host events, from cheese and wine tastings to football viewing nights. Others have a regular ‘Papy Hour’ (Grandad’s Hour).
They are a big success among residents.
“There are no obligations, no entertainment team to get people involved – yet the place fills up. The residents come back of their own accord.
“They develop routines, bonds and a social fabric.”
“It gives the local community a reason to come in. And what they find there surprises them,” said Mr Gérard.
The rapid expansion has not been without challenges.
One happy customerphotographe Mathilde Parquet EI
“Care home managers are trained to think in terms of care pathways, risk management and regulatory compliance. It takes time to convince them that a space with no structured programme and an open-door policy is safer, not riskier.”
Another issue was finance.
The association developed a hybrid model combining self-funding by the care homes, institutional support and corporate sponsorship.
The goal is to have 100 bistrots in France by 2030, but Mr Gérard believes the concept can grow further.
“The isolation of older people is not a French problem. It is a structural feature of the way most Western societies have organised care for the elderly.
“The model is exportable because the problem is universal.”
