Polish Tourism Office Beckons French With 'Polish Plumber'
The “Polish plumber” became a catchphrase in France last spring in the weeks leading up to the country's referendum on the European Union constitution. French opposition said the predatory Polish plumbers would sweep through France and other better-off western European countries, stealing jobs by working for less pay. (Politicians also conjured up the “Latvian mason” and the “Estonian gardener” - although these got much less play.) It is one reason France soundly rejected the EU constitution last May.
Now the Polish Tourism Bureau is using the mythical character to its advantage. Last June, the bureau began featuring a plumber dressed in overalls and carrying wrenches and pipe on its French Web site. Against a backdrop of Polish sites, the image says in French: “I'm staying in Poland. Lots of you should come.”