- Are French-made masks easily accessible in Germany, when they have been sorely lacking in France since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic?
- This is in any case what suggests a very shared photo on Facebook, showing a mask "made in France", which would be distributed free of charge to our neighbors.
- But this photo was taken by a Frenchman in a German hospital who equips his patients with masks. And the model in question was ordered before the coronavirus epidemic, as explained by the French company Kolmi-Hopen.
If French pharmacies can finally, since Monday, sell masks, the difficulties observed in recent months in France to obtain this coveted means of protection in the midst of an epidemic of coronavirus remain very present in people's minds.
This weekend again, on Facebook, a post suggesting that French-made masks were nevertheless available to everyone in our German neighbors aroused strong reactions - and more than 11,000 shares.
The author of this post (now inaccessible), Yann, a “Breton expatriate in Germany”, showed there the photo of a green mask of the company “Kolmi” stamped with the mention “made in France” while wondering openly: "I realize that it is a hassle in France about protective masks against COVID-19. […] Also, I find it shameful that my country lacks resources while here in Germany, a country neighboring to France, there is nothing lacking. To my surprise, I was given a mask again yesterday (3rd in 3 days) […] and it was stamped “Made in France” !! ??. So I ask myself a lot of questions, trade policy and profit are therefore stronger than health !! ?? "
While his post clearly identified, as additional information, the Alfried-Krupp hospital in Essen-Rüttenscheid, in Essen (North Rhine-Westphalia), the photo of the mask has since been taken up by other Internet users. , who simply state: " In Germany, surgical masks distributed free of charge ... made in France! "
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Contacted by 20 Minutes , Yann explains to us: “I went to the hospital for health reasons and examinations unrelated to the coronavirus, all visitors or patients are obliged to wear a mask there. I stayed there five days and I was given a different mask each day, portable for several hours, especially in the presence of the staff, but to be removed when you are alone in your room.
"One of them bore the mention" made in France "so it challenged me since I know
that it is difficult to find in France, I inquired about the company in
question, I saw that she was from Angevin and shared my post on Facebook. But I made the mistake of putting it in public, it quickly garnered sharing and reactions, some positive and others very negative, whether it was "yellow vests" or a soldier who accused me of not being Patriotic because I lived in Germany… So I decided to spend it in private, just for my contacts, and I made another explanatory post behind, ”he continues.
A sale prior to the coronavirus epidemic
Joined by 20 Minutes , the French company Kolmi-Hopen - visited by Emmanuel Macron at the end of March - confirms to us that it is the manufacturer of this green mask, while specifying that the last sale of this model took place well before the epidemic of Covid -19: “ Our company has been manufacturing medical masks since 1972, and protective masks (FFP) since 2009. They are sold to distributors and wholesalers, in France, and throughout Europe, in 24 different countries, including l Germany, Belgium, Poland… The last Kolmi-Hopen sale of this product was made on March 27, 2019 under the code M5200S and on January 20, 2020 under the code M52000 (an old stock with a lifespan of 5 years) ". Since then, the company has supplied its masks in the form of new packaging, unrelated to this easily identifiable model.
"We obviously do not control the traceability of the sales of our French or European customers", continues Kolmi-Hopen, who also indicates, on his site, not being able to contribute to the requests for supply of masks of individuals in France, by virtue of the decree of March 3, 2020, which entails the requisition of his business "by the French State for the manufacture of medical and respiratory masks" intended for nursing staff.
Contacted by 20 Minutes , the Alfried-Krupp hospital in Essen-Rüttenscheid did not respond to our requests. But Yann himself puts into perspective the extent taken by his initial Facebook post: "Of the five days spent in hospital and the five masks received, only one was" made in France ". "
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