In 1951, Abbé Pierre resigned as an MP to devote himself to fighting homelessness and poverty. He had relied on his salary to pay for Georges and the 18 men who now formed the first Community and were still building homes for those who desperately needed them. So the former MP and resistance hero toured the smart restaurants of Paris asking for donations. The Companions were outraged. They told Abbé Pierre firmly that begging compromised their - and his - self respect. Instead, to raise the money they needed, they became "rag pickers", collecting things that people no longer wanted and selling them on. So the concept of Companions running self supporting businesses, with the profits going to those in greater need was born.