La Maison de l'Amitié

What La Maison de l'Amitié does

La Maison de l'Amitié is a French nonprofit association (association loi 1901) founded in late 1998 by Geneviève Gazeau (who passed away in July 2024) and employees of La Défense companies, operating as a day shelter (accueil de jour) for people in extreme precarity in the La Défense business district of Puteaux, France. The organization provides a unified daytime reception service combining essential needs provision (Le Grand Café meal and refreshment distribution, showers, laundry, toilets, bagagerie/luggage storage, clothing distribution) with professional social support (administrative assistance, housing help, rights access, professional integration guidance), French language workshops, cultural outings, and existential/spiritual support. It also conducts street outreach (maraudes) on the parvis of La Défense and operates a winter night shelter for up to 8 persons under the Plan Grand Froid. Service is governed by a principle of unconditional reception (accueil inconditionnel).

The underlying operating model is human-intensive: a team of 10 salaried staff supported by approximately 360 active volunteers providing over 12,000 hours of work annually, operating 298 days per year in a 340 m² facility specially equipped by Paris La Défense at Place Carpeaux, between the CNIT and the Grande Arche. In 2025 the association recorded 62,387 visits, served 2,554 unique individuals with an average of 210 people per day, distributed 133,000 coffees, conducted 5,097 social support interviews, and logged 3,606 bagagerie passages. The technical stack is minimal, limited to a website hosted by OVH; no proprietary software, API, or digital platform is operated.

The business model is a hybrid public-private nonprofit funding structure. Primary revenue comes from public subsidies awarded by DRIHL (Direction Régionale et Interdégionale de l'Hébergement et du Logement) for the general interest mission and from Paris La Défense, which also provides the premises. Secondary revenue is sourced from private donations from individuals and companies (eligible for 66%/60% tax deductions) and from annual membership fees of €15 per year. A 2026 financing request of €150,000 has been issued for donations and service functioning. The association is governed by a Conseil d'Administration led by President Pierre Sader, with Director Antoine de Tilly managing operations. La Salle à Manger, a complementary solidarity restaurant and professional integration workshop created in 2021, operates as a separate but affiliated association.

Name

La Maison de l'Amitié

Legal name

La Maison de l'Amitié La Défense

Website

https://www.lamaisondelamitie.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

La Maison de l'Amitié is a French nonprofit operating a day shelter in La Défense, Puteaux, providing food, hygiene, social support, and outreach services to people in extreme precarity, funded mainly by public subsidies and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless and Social Support Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Homeless day shelter
• Social support services
• Humanitarian aid organization
• Outreach street teams
• Solidarity restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Puteaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Subsidies: Primary funding from DRIHL (Direction Régionale et Interdépartementale de l'Hébergement et du Logement) for general interest mission and from Paris La Défense
2. Private Donations: Donations from individuals and companies, with tax deductions available (66% for individuals, 60% for companies)
3. Membership Fees: Annual membership fee of 15 euros per year

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

La Maison de l'Amitié runs a daytime support center (accueil de jour) in the La Défense business district providing unconditional welcome services — meals and refreshments (Le Grand Café), showers, laundry, luggage storage (Bagagerie), social worker support, French language workshops, clothing distribution, cultural outings, and existential support — to people in severe precarity and homelessness. It supplements on-site services with street outreach teams (Maraudes) and an emergency winter night shelter, and operates La Salle à Manger, a sister solidarity restaurant providing meals and restaurant-sector job integration.

Product overview

La Maison de l'Amitié is a non-profit organization (association loi 1901) providing a unified day shelter service for people in great precariousness at La Défense, Paris. The core offering is its Accueil de Jour (Day Shelter) which combines multiple essential services: Le Grand Café (morning refreshment distribution), showers and laundry facilities, luggage storage (Bagagerie), social worker support, French language workshops, and clothing distribution. The organization also conducts outreach through Maraudes de l'Amitié and provides emergency winter night shelter. A complementary initiative is La Salle à Manger, a separate solidarity restaurant launched in 2021 that combines food access with professional integration in the restaurant sector. All services operate on unconditional welcome principles, serving approximately 210 people daily with 10 salaried staff and 70 volunteers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Salle à Manger: A complementary solidarity restaurant and professional integration workshop created in 2021. Offers meals at solidarity rates to people in precarity, employs people far from employment in restaurant professions, and fights food waste by recovering unsold goods.

Products and services

• Accueil de Jour (Day Shelter)

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hôpital Max Fourartier de Nanterre - Équipe Mobile Santé mentale et précaritécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvention since 2012 for mise à disposition of mental health professionals. Team provides support on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. An psychiatric nurse is also present Monday and Tuesday mornings.
• Médecins de l'Ordre de MaltecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA doctor from the Order of Malta is present on Tuesday mornings to provide medical consultations.
• Culture du CœurminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partnership enabling Thursday afternoon outings: museum visits, monument tours, exhibitions for people in precarity.
• Prêt à Manger (Pret A Manger)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaily recovery of unsold sandwiches and salads from the previous day, collected by volunteers each morning around 8h30 for distribution to beneficiaries.
• Groupe Partage et Solidarité de Notre-Dame-de-PentecôteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for existential/spiritual support dimension, providing times of sharing and reflection in respect of everyone's beliefs.
• La Salle à MangercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister association created in 2021, complementary to La Maison de l'Amitié. Solidarity restaurant offering meals at reduced prices, job integration through restaurant work, and food waste reduction. People from MDA can obtain solidarity price cards.
• Relais culturelsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural relays partner for Thursday afternoon cultural activities and outings.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Samusocial de Paris: Paris-based nonprofit providing emergency and day services for homeless and excluded individuals across the city, including mobile outreach teams. Operates a directly comparable model of unconditional welcome, day-shelter facilities, and street outreach in the same geographic market as La Maison de l'Amitié.
• France Terre d'Asile: French nonprofit providing accommodation, legal aid, and social support to asylum seekers and refugees. Comparable as a French nonprofit delivering day-shelter services, French language instruction, and social accompaniment to vulnerable populations.
• Aurore: French nonprofit operating shelters, housing programs, and social reintegration services for homeless individuals and families across France. Comparable on the day-shelter/accommodation and social-support service lines targeting the same beneficiary population.
• Fondation Abbé Pierre: Major French foundation focused on housing access and combating homelessness. Comparable on the social accompaniment and housing-access missions, though it operates more as an advocacy and funded-program organization than a direct service provider.
• Restos du Cœur: Iconic French nonprofit distributing food and providing social support to people in poverty, including homeless individuals. Directly comparable on the food-distribution and unconditional-welcome service elements that are core to La Maison de l'Amitié's daily operations.
• Emmaüs France: National federation of French nonprofit associations providing housing, social reinsertion, and second-hand goods recovery. Comparable as a major French social-services nonprofit that combines housing assistance with work-integration programs, addressing the same beneficiary population.
• Armée du Salut (Salvation Army France): French arm of the Salvation Army operating emergency shelters, day centers, and social reintegration programs for people experiencing homelessness. Directly comparable on the night-shelter and day-shelter operational model.

Broad incumbents

• Croix-Rouge française: Major French humanitarian organization operating shelters, social dining rooms, and emergency aid programs. Comparable as a broader incumbent covering many of the same service lines (food, hygiene, social support) at national scale rather than a single district.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Maison de l'Amitié