A down jacket that cools the mood.
The Pays de la Loire region has come under fire after distributing various promotional items to its elected officials, including a quilted jacket, flocked with the regional logo and made in Bangladesh, reports Presse Océan.
The label did not fail to provoke a reaction from certain elected officials, denouncing double talk on the part of the regional president, Christelle Morançais, who has just joined Édouard Philippe's party, Horizons.
The regional councilor and socialist MEP, Christophe Clergeau, notably denounced on
#Doudounegate
“The President of the Macronist Region has the Region's down jackets manufactured in Bangladesh.
A long road to reach us when the time has come for reindustrialization in France and Europe,” he wrote with the hashtag #DoudouneGate.
The President of the Macronist Region @C_MORANCAIS has the down jackets of the Region @paysdelaloire made… in Bangladesh.
A long road to reach us as the time has come for reindustrialization in 🇫🇷 and 🇪🇺.
Stop the blabla and the COM' shots!
#DoudounesGate pic.twitter.com/KYSXdsnON9
— Christophe Clergeau (@clergeau) February 27, 2024
The elected official asked the regional president “to specify the conditions in which these clothes were produced”.
Environmental elected officials also denounced these promotional items made of plastic and made in China, pleading for more “consistency”.
“We were already asking for made in France in 2019!
5 years later, the majority have not made any progress in relocating their communication goodies!
», reacted on social networks Lucie Etonno, regional advisor and president of the Écologie ensemble group.
We were already asking for “made in France” in 2019!
5 years later, the majority have not made any progress in relocating their communication goodies!
#DoudounesGate #PDL #consistency https://t.co/Vqz6VWiAJD
— Lucie Etonno (@LucieEtonno) February 27, 2024
A “proper” call for tenders
Contacted by Presse Océan and 20 Minutes, the Region's services plead good faith, indicating that the group purchase of these goodies had been the subject of a call for tenders "in the rules".
According to them, the service provider holding the contract was not able to offer a product manufactured in France or in Europe.
“We regret it and will ensure that this situation does not happen again,” indicates the regional council, recalling that production in France was favored “whenever possible”.
This is not the first time that a down jacket affair has embarrassed the political class.
Last February, the Lyon town hall was singled out for ordering 450 down jackets made in Bangladesh to equip its agents.
A “contradiction” between municipal ecological commitment, pointed out by the textile industry in Lyon.