Carambar pulls Schumacher joke

SWEET manufacturer Carambar is removing a long-standing joke referring to Formula 1 star Michael Schumacher from the inside of their wrappers.

The gag: "What vegetable goes very fast and laughs when cornering? Answer: le chou marreur (Schumacher)" has been deemed in poor taste following the driver’s skiing accident in December, which left him in an artificially induced coma.

Although the joke has been in circulation for years, it was pointed out on Twitter last week by a fan.

Faced with a social media outcry, Carambar responded by tweeting the message: “This joke has been pulled from production and will not be used on any future packets.”

The sweet, first created in 1954, is famous for the poor quality of the jokes on the inside of its wrappers.

Last year, the company hit the headlines when it announced it was withdrawing all jokes from the inside wrappers, only to later reveal the announcement was a joke.

Mr Schumacher, whose condition remains stable but critical, won the Formula 1 championship seven times and is regarded as one of the world’s greatest drivers.

Yesterday, French prosecutors investigating the skiing accident in Meribel, ruled out any “wrongdoing” in the incident.

Photo: Sylvain Naudin