Brussels, 31/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - France will be the first member state to receive support from the new Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (known by its French acronym, FEAD), with €499 million for the period 2014-2020, the European Commission having approved the French operational programme on Thursday 31 July. This programme will help to pay for the provision of food aid to the neediest people in the country. France will top up the funding by €88 million. The monies paid out by the French authorities between the end of the previous FEAD and the start of the current one can be reimbursed retroactively, particularly with an advance of 11% of the total amount to be received by France in the near future. (JK)