Polish Plumber
Encyclopedia
Philippe Val
Philippe Val is a French singer, comedian and journalist who is currently director of France Inter. He previously was the editor and director of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical political weekly newspaper.-Life and career:...
in Charlie Hebdo
Charlie Hebdo
Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly newspaper, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics and jokes. It appeared from 1969 to 1981, when it folded, and was resurrected in 1992. The current editor is cartoonist Charb. His predecessors are François Cavanna and Philippe Val...
and popularised by Philippe de Villiers
Philippe de Villiers
Viscount Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers, born on 25 March 1949, is a French politician. He was the Mouvement pour la France nominee for the French presidential election of 2007. He received 2.23% of the vote, putting him in sixth place. As only the top...
as a symbol of cheap labour coming in from Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
as a result of the Directive on services in the internal market
Directive on services in the internal market
The Directive on services in the internal market is an EU law aiming at establishing a single market for services within the European Union . Drafted under the leadership of the former European Commissioner for the Internal Market Frits Bolkestein, it has been popularly referred to by his name...
during the EU Constitution referendum
French referendum on the European Constitution
The French referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held on 29 May 2005 to decide whether France should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 2005.
The phrase became well known after Frits Bolkestein
Frits Bolkestein
Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 January 1978, until 5 November 1982, when he became State Secretary for Economic Affairs from 5 November 1982, until 14 July...
, the creator of the Directive, noted during a press conference that he would like to hire a Polish plumber because he finds it hard to find a good handyman for his second house in northern France. The proclamation caused considerable controversy and debate in France. The mayor of the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in which Bolkestein resided gave him a list of available plumbers he found in the phone book.
The phrase was then the origin of a controversy during the EU Constitution referendum
French referendum on the European Constitution
The French referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held on 29 May 2005 to decide whether France should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union...
about the motivations of the opponents to the treaty: Some supporters assumed that the opposition to the treaty was due to nationalist considerations when some of the opponents considered that it was used to discredit them.
It is also a fictional character featured in a poster by the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
tourism board in response to what was perceived as negative rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
against Poland. The Polish Plumber is portrayed by 21-year-old male model Piotr Adamski, who beckons French tourists to come to Poland in French. T-shirts were also produced featuring the Polish Plumber and a follow up poster featured "Polish Nurse", a female equivalent, portrayed by 22 year old Bożena Szwarc. Her phrase is "Pologne: Je t'attends" ("Poland: I'm waiting for you.")
The campaign of the Swiss Socialist Party in favour of the free circulation of people in the context of European bilateral deals also features the character, with the slogan Plombiers de tous les pays, unissez-vous ! ("Plumbers of all countries, unite!", in reference to the famous slogan and last words of the Communist Manifesto, "Working men of all countries, unite!
Workers of the world, unite!
The political slogan Workers of the world, unite! is one of the most famous rallying cries of communism, found in The Communist Manifesto , by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
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http://www.juso.ch/index.php?page=press_releases&id=262.