Véran tries to extinguish the controversy
Monday, the Phryges, the very French mascots of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, went on sale, in particular at Carrefour and in specialized children’s stores (Jouet club, La Grande récrée, etc.).
These soft toys are from French brands, Gipsy toys and Doudou & Compagnie, but almost all remain stamped ”made in China”, as we indicate in our columns of November 14, “like the vast majority of soft toys sold in France”, had underlined the organizers of the Paris Olympics during their presentation.
Enough to send back a controversy that Olivier Véran tried to extinguish this Thursday morning, guest of the “4 truths” on France 2. The government spokesperson indeed deplored “the structural problem” which makes France , according to him, is not able to manufacture “in a few months” two million plush servant mascots for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“France lost its factories for years”
“I would love, and we are fighting for that, if in France we were able to have enough raw materials and textile factories to manufacture two million stuffed animals in a few months, the observation is that today ‘today ‘we don’t know how to do it’, he explained.
“On the other hand, what we know how to do is push French companies that manufacture in China to relocate to France,” he added.
“It’s a structural problem linked to the fact that France has lost its factories for years”, he continued, nevertheless considering that “that France has once again become the most attractive country in Europe for several consecutive years” and “that tomorrow we will be able to produce what we no longer know today”.
“An insult to all French companies”
However, unlike Gipsy toys, which manufactures in China, Doudou et Compagnie plan to produce 15% of its quota in its factory in Guerche-de-Bretagne (Ille-et-Vilaine) which will expand for the occasion. In this factory, the upholstery, assembly and sewing will be carried out, but the raw materials and the preparation of the spare parts will come from China.
Employer ethics denounced “an insult to all French companies” and an “international and economic slap that we give to ourselves”. “I want to believe that we still have a few months before the Olympics are held to be able to correct the subject,” said Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu on Tuesday.