In late January I had the pleasure of working with a team of the largest French public television - France 2 on two Bulgarian topics. The reportages about Bulgaria’s textile industry as a provider to big brands and about Bansko as a competitive ski center are now available online. The first sparked huge discussion in social networks on whether Bulgarian seamstresses were able to assert their rights and whether it was true that this country is the sewing workshop of Europe. There are articles on the subject dating back to the beginning of democratic changes in Bulgaria, while large Bulgarian enterprises actually produced clothes for world brands even in the 70s.

In this case, perhaps it is worth seeing the perspective of the journalists who worked on the topics as the limitations of a 3-minute broadcast are huge.

"My name is Camille Guttin and I am journalist in France 2. We worked on two reportages here and I think we succeeded in our task. The strongest moment was our visit to workers at home. The plot was serious, their confessions - very strong. There is nothing to add and it was very interesting. My disappointment was during our first meeting with a manufacturer of luxury shirts: I went there as I was in France. Then I realized that people do not react the same way. I saw that I needed to find a different approach.”

Due to lack of time, some of the material was not included in the final reportage. How would cameraman Fabien Fougère describe what his camera saw in words?

"For me, too, the strongest moment was the hands that produce the margins of large companies; the hands that sew small labels that people are looking for. As footage, of course, I liked the magnificent mountain scenery of Bansko, the weather was great and everything was fine. "

His disappointment is falling on the ice in the parking lot, damaging the camera, but the topic of uncleaned sidewalks in winter remains for the colleagues from the regional radio.

On a question whether she would return on vacation to Bansko Camille answers:

"Yes, not only because I am a skier; but I would not come for a whole week, as the slopes are not as many, and the resort is for younger people – it is full of bars,” says Camille. “The French like renting family apartments rather than staying in a hotel. Personally for me this is a good place for 3-4 days of skiing. "

We wonder if Fabien Fougère would buy jeans of big brands that are actually produced in Bulgaria.

"At least I will ask more questions, seeing corporate labels now. On the one hand I will refrain at the memory of these ‘anonymous hands,’ which I already mentioned, but on the other there are manufacturers of high quality, where workers are well treated, so the answer cannot be a simple yes or no. "

After such a brief glimpse into a country, what has changed in the minds of colleagues from France 2?

For Camille, it's the feeling of Bansko, where things are not so low cost. Of course, pictures with workers had more impact than what he previously imagined, while the greatest discovery was that Bulgarians were keen on preserving their traditions:

"I thought that Bulgaria is another outgrowth of Russia and that people here were gloomy, but I found their warmth and affection towards their culture," Camille says.

Fabien would love to return to broad areas in southern Bulgaria – to see valleys, forests and snowy mountains, of course. He says he likes Bulgarian food as it is simple, healthy and his friends would be pleased.

English: Alexander Markov