Téléthon raises €82m in 30 hours

ORGANISERS of this year's Téléthon have thanked the French for their "exceptional" generosity, with a provisional total up five per cent on 2013.

The 28th edition of the 30-hour television marathon ended with €82.35 million on the totaliser - up from €78.3 million last year.

The final total will be higher as donations remain possible until the end of this week. Last year's final confirmed amount was €89 million.

The annual event raises cash for muscular dystrophy charity AFM and two-thirds of the donation amount can be deducted from your French income tax.

Money raised goes to funding research into rare illnesses affecting the brain, liver, eyesight and blood.

AFM is supporting more than 30 clinical trials including gene and cell therapy and has 300 research projects on the go.