MONTGERON, (WAM) — French charity Léa Solidarité Femmes inaugurated the first shelter of its network, ‘Maison Solidarité Femmes 91’, with the support of the UAE Embassy in Paris and the Île-de-France Region Departmental Council.

The inauguration event was attended by Hind Manea Saeed Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to France; Sylvie Carillon, Mayor of Montgeron; François Durovray, President of the Departmental Council of Essonne; and French officials and representatives of entities involved in the project.

The shelter will offer comprehensive support to women and children subjected to domestic violence in order to facilitate their extrication from vulnerable situations and enable them to rebuild their lives in a protected environment.

Léa Solidarité Femmes specialises in the support and accommodation of women and children who are victims of domestic violence. In the ten years since its inception, Léa Solidarité Femmes has assisted more than 2,900 women and children, including 721 women and 904 children in 2021.

Al Otaiba commented, “Empowering women in various fields is one of the UAE’s priorities and the focus of its leadership, as the UAE plays a regional and international role in empowering women. In this regard, I am proud of the UAE Embassy in France’s support to Léa Solidarité Femmes to protect women and children living in vulnerable conditions.”

For her part, President of Léa Solidarité Femmes Patricia Rouff remarked, “The missions of the Maison Solidarité Femmes 91, the first house of the Solidarité Femmes network in France, respond to a large number of needs identified over the last ten years by the experts of Léa Solidarité Femmes. I wish to express my gratitude to all our partners and funders. It is thanks to the unfailing support of benefactors such as the UAE Embassy in Paris and Ile-de-France Region that Léa Solidarité Femmes can continue to take in and support women and their children who are victims of domestic violence.”