Handsome Polish plumbers

Polish plumbers find themselves in the center of a new ad campaign by Polish tour operators trying to attract French tourists to Poland. A blonde, blue-eyed, well-muscled man carrying pipes in one hand and a tool bag in the other beckons French tourists, the writing above his said saying: "I live in Poland. You can come here too." Following the resounding "no" from French voters on the EU Constitution referendum, the overwhelming presence of Polish people in France was one of the popularly listed reasons for French rejection of the measure. This latest ad campaign is perceived as a response from a Polish public fed up with being blamed for the overturning of the referendum. A Polish tourism official in Paris, Elzbieta Janek, says "Polish people are sick of shouldering the responsibility for the referendum. We thought humor would be the best antidote. It is our job to encourage people to visit Poland, and this seemed like the best way to reduce tension, and to show the French that our doors are always open to them." Â