One in ten French people work in the Third Sector

Spanning the private and public sectors, the third sector groups thousand of organizations together in France, mainly committed in the social field, which in 2008 employed around 10% of all French workers. In most cases they are small enterprises with few staff. Yet some companies covering all national territory have hundreds of employees such as the Croix-rouge, the Association des paralysés de France and the Association nationale pour la formation professionnelle des adultes (Afpa). Divided, according to their legal nature, into NGOs, foundations, cooperatives and mutual aid associations, the third sector’s actors play a crucial role in the supply of assistance services, in specialized centres or at home, especially to the elderly, disabled, homeless and disadvantaged minors. The contribution of social enterprises to the development of fare trade is also significant.