Ski resorts will be able to reopen during the end-of-year holiday season, but the ski lifts must remain closed, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced, promising to support the affected communities and professionals. This announcement prompted a reaction from the mayor of Nice, who suggested a kind of exemption to the Government.
“Of course, everyone will be able to go to these resorts to enjoy the fresh air of our beautiful mountains, and the shops, excluding bars and restaurants, which will be open. However, all ski lifts and collective equipment will be closed to the public,” the Prime Minister announced yesterday.
Christian Estrosi was quick to respond to this declaration both in front of the economic decision-makers of the department and a few minutes later to the press. “I have decided on a very selfish strategy, and I own it by saying, I understand the Government’s measures and I share the concerns of all the stakeholders of our resorts. But there are the resorts of Vésubie and Tinée where, with the Metropole’s services, we have positioned ourselves to open them because we were very reliant on them.”
The president of the Metropole wishes to implement a strict protocol that would allow the disaster-stricken valley villages to reopen not only the resorts but also ski trails, and this only for the residents of the department to comply with European agreements made with our neighbors.
To enjoy all the services of the resorts, each vacationer should present a negative PCR test, respect the curfew that will be reinstated from December 15, as well as all the health measures to be applied daily.
The resorts themselves should commit to operating at only 50% capacity for the ski lifts, with gondola closures.
“Here, we are in a situation with local resorts. Opening our ski resorts and ski lifts would be a governmental gesture after Storm Alex, regarding the distress and risk of seeing residents leave our valleys permanently, never to return,” lamented the mayor of Nice, who sent the exemption request to the Prime Minister, whose response should come at the beginning of next week.
Simply opening the #ski resorts and ski lifts in December, and showing that they are perfectly accessible, will send a positive message after #TempeteAlex so as not to lose a clientele in future years. pic.twitter.com/2LvMfdzUaV
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) November 26, 2020
The department is also reacting
Charles-Ange Ginésy, president of the Departmental Council, spoke negatively: “The Prime Minister announces that French ski resorts will indeed be open for the Christmas holidays, but the main economic actors providing this tourist attraction will remain closed: this is not possible!”
For him, “this ski season generates significant economic and social stakes: 120,000 jobs and 11 billion euros in annual revenue.”
The conclusion is bitter: “It’s a triple penalty for the Alpes-Maritimes Department, which has faced the COVID-19 crises, Storm Alex, and now this government decision.”
