A French politician misused the name of the cleaning equipment manufacturer Kärcher as propaganda. The company from Winnenden defends itself.
Winnenden – The products of the cleaning device manufacturer Kärcher from Winnenden (Rems-Murr-Kreis*) are known all over the world – also in France, where a politician recently used the name of the company from Baden-Württemberg* to make a point of view clear. The Swabian family business is now demanding that the media and politicians stop using the brand name immediately, reports the German Press Agency (dpa).
The Kärcher company is an important part of the economy in the Stuttgart region* and is considered the world market leader in the manufacture of cleaning devices and systems. In a speech at the beginning of the year, the French presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse referred to such a device from Kärcher in order to want to use it to clean the problem areas of the French capital Paris.
Kärcher: French politicians use brand names for propaganda and election campaigns
The French Republic will elect a new head of state from Sunday April 10th to Sunday April 24th. However, the election campaign is already in full swing, as a dig at candidate Valérie Pécresse towards her competitor Emmanuel Macron, the incumbent French head of state, shows. The Swabian company Kärcher has now been drawn into this rivalry – and not for the first time. At the beginning of the year, the conservative politician from Paris said in relation to the fight against crime and problem areas that “the Kärcher” had to be brought out again, writes the dpa .
The presidential candidate was possibly referring to one of the well-known Kärcher high-pressure cleaners. At least she said it was meant to clean up neighborhoods. According to the dpa, Macron’s rival in the presidential candidacy took up a comment made by former conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2005, when he was Minister of the Interior, he said he wanted to drive out the “rabble” in the Parisian suburbs with Kärcher high-pressure cleaners. According to a statement from the French branch of Kärcher, the company has been fighting for years to ensure that the brand name is no longer used in French politics.
Kärcher defends itself against brand use: Is not “standard of any party”
With regard to the renewed use of the brand name “Kärcher” as a means of propaganda in French politics, not only the French branch but also the company’s headquarters in Winnenden spoke out. Politicians and the media in France should stop using the brand name immediately, the company said on Wednesday at the request of the dpa. The French branch added that the Kärcher brand was not “a standard for any party”, but the property of the Kärcher companies.
Using the Kärcher name in French politics would make a connection between violence and insecurity and the Swabian brand. The manufacturer himself is committed to values and a patron of French culture. In partnership with the French Ministry of Education, Kärcher has started cleaning the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. *BW24 is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
