The jackpot gave them the ability to expand that generosity dramatically.
The First Major Donation
Only weeks after winning, the family donated approximately €400,000 to Saint-Michel.
For a municipality with an annual budget of around €2 million, the amount was substantial.
The money served more than one purpose. It helped the town address over €100,000 in old debts associated with its retirement home. It also supported plans to improve the school complex and develop a “Maison pour tous,” or community house, with cultural, social and technological spaces.
Reporting from 2009 quoted Mayor Fabienne Godichaud describing the event as something resembling a fairy tale for the community.
The winners could have left the area or kept every euro for themselves. Instead, they provided funds that could benefit elderly residents, families and children.
It is important to retain the precise wording. The donation helped the municipality reduce or resolve more than €100,000 in old retirement-home debt within a larger package of community spending. Available reporting does not justify turning that into an unlimited claim that the winners personally paid every liability the institution had ever accumulated.
Free School Meals Begin
The family’s most enduring contribution began with the 2009–2010 school year.
They offered approximately €70,000—equivalent to the school canteen’s annual budget—to cover meals for children attending Saint-Michel’s nursery and primary schools.
Depending on the year and report, the number of participating pupils ranged from approximately 180 to 230. Enrollment naturally changed over time.
For families, the effect was immediate.
One mother quoted in early reporting said meals for her two children ordinarily cost close to €800 per year. As a single parent living on limited income, she described the donors’ intervention as genuinely important.
The assistance did more than remove individual meal charges. It also allowed the schools to organize activities involving nutrition and taste and, in later years, offer organic, themed and holiday meals.
In September 2010, the donors repeated the contribution for a second school year. The mayor described them as the town’s benefactors.
By 2012, the family was paying for school meals for the fourth consecutive year, supporting 223 children and continuing to remain anonymous.
What initially might have been interpreted as a one-time celebration of their lottery victory had become a sustained commitment.
The Donations Continued for Years
The strongest evidence that the support did not end after a few years comes from the municipality itself.
Minutes from Saint-Michel’s municipal council meeting on September 12, 2023, recorded a €40,000 donation from the EuroMillions winners.
The document said the donors wanted every pupil using the nursery and primary school canteen to receive meals free of charge during the 2023–2024 school year.
The council unanimously accepted the contribution and thanked the donors. It stated that the money would cover meals and food-related activities, including themed meals, gastronomic events and efforts to provide organic food.