For these new millionaires, there is no question of keeping their mega-jackpot just for themselves. A siblings from Colmar (Haut-Rhin) won the tidy sum of 18 million euros during a Heritage Loto draw carried out in mid-September, the FDJ announced on Friday.
It was the older sister who was responsible for picking up the check at the end of September, at the FDJ premises in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine). She received it from Stéphane Pallez, the CEO of the FDJ group, and Célia Vérot, the general director of the Heritage Foundation.
With this sum, the winner – who wishes to remain anonymous, like the other members of her family – wishes to “change society”. “For several years, I have supported six associations that are close to my heart, such as the French Cardiology Federation, Apprentis d’Auteuil and Guide Dogs for the Blind. I will continue to give to them, but from now on I will be able to do it on a larger scale,” she assured, according to comments relayed by the FDJ.
She also said she plans to create, on a regional or national scale, an association to help the most vulnerable people. “I want to take time to put together this project which is really close to my heart. I want, at my level, to grow the company and ensure that this project can shine in my region and then throughout France, like a snowball effect,” she declared.
These 18 million euros constitute the third largest gain won in the Haut-Rhin department. It remains far from the 40 million euros won in the Euromillions, in Colmar already, in 2015, and the 36 million won in 2018, in the commune of Porte-du-Ried, during another Euromillions draw . Solely for the year 2023, this is, however, the biggest gain won in France, tied with that won in Argentan, in Orne, last April, according to the specialized site draw-gagnant.com.
The jackpot won by these siblings was during the last draw of the 2023 edition of the Loto Mission Patrimoine, of which it was the sixth edition this year. Part of the proceeds from this initiative, which is also accompanied by scratch games, is donated to the Mission for Heritage in Danger, whose role is to preserve monuments and historic buildings in danger. “Since the start of its marketing in September 2023, the Mission Patrimoine offer has already made it possible to raise nearly 25 million euros for the Heritage Foundation,” said Stéphane Pallez.
