At the end of the meeting, in the middle of the night, the counter displayed 79,801,520 euros, the organizers specified in the closing press release. The 2023 edition had collected a little more than 80 million euros at the end of the weekend and nearly 93 million in the end. It was in 2006 that the counter reached its record, with more than 106 million euros. "The French people showed up and made nearly 80 million euros in pledges, which is huge given the context. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who gave.", Laurence Tiennot-Herment, president of the French Association against Myopathies-Telethon, told AFP.
Behind this amount, "This is so much hope for treatment for families", she stressed. "We are really relieved, very happy, +grateful+, grateful," reacted to AFP the singer Mika, "marathon" sponsor of this edition, stressing that it was "not easy to change the date" of the event, brought forward because of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris on December 8. "It is only by doing the Telethon that we understand the immense effort that it takes to reach this remarkable figure (...) and it is not over yet," he added.
Donors can contribute until Friday, December 6 at 36.37 and all year round on the telethon.fr website.
A treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, at the origin of the creation of the Telethon
This year is special because a treatment could change the course of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease that was previously considered incurable. This rare pathology, which destroys muscles and affects one in 3,000 boys in France, is an emblematic cause of the Telethon: it was at the origin in 1958 of the creation of the AFM, the association that organizes this charity marathon to finance research.
The needs in 2025 to finance an "exceptional trial" on this disease "exceed 30 million euros", according to Ms Tiennot-Herment. As every year, thousands of events had been organized in many cities in France this weekend, the event mobilized France Televisions for 30 hours of live coverage.
"40 human trials involving more than 30 different diseases"
In addition to field collections, promises of donations by telephone, by internet, a "gaming" marathon and a raffle were on the menu. Many actions are "still scheduled for next week", Mika recalled.
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In 2023, the AFM has dedicated approximately 60 million euros to the research and development of new therapies. The Telethon proceeds particularly target rare diseases, 95% of which remain untreated or even undiagnosed, and research still needs funding. This collection will allow the AFM-Telethon to continue to provide its support to "40 human trials involving more than 30 different diseases", Laurence Tiennot Herment welcomed this.
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