After the announcements from Matignon this Monday, mountain professionals must still wait to know if they will be able to start their season during the Christmas holidays.
“The question” of whether to open or keep the ski resorts closed for the year-end holidays “has not been decided as of today, with both options still being considered due to uncertainties regarding the evolution of the health situation,” the Prime Minister’s office announced in a statement on Monday, November 23.
“Given the necessary preparation time to allow for a potential opening for the year-end holidays, a decision will be made within the next ten days,” Matignon specified, indicating that health criteria will be “essential,” as well as coordination with “neighboring countries.”
A “European coordination is being undertaken at France’s initiative,” Matignon also indicated. For now, some countries like Italy and Germany are leaning towards staying closed, while others like Austria are hesitating.
A decision is expected between December 5 and 8
The reopening of the stations is a crucial issue for the white gold sector – 350 stations in France, 10 billion in economic returns, 120,000 seasonal jobs – which achieves 13.5% of its attendance during the pre-season and approximately 13% at Christmas.
Mountain professionals have assured that “everything will be done to implement testing devices, barrier gestures, so that the season starts like previous years.”
The main concern pertains to the hotel and restaurant sector, as “some activities may remain closed, even if the stations reopen.”
During a videoconference on the pandemic with elected officials from the involved departments and sector organizations, Jean Castex, surrounded notably by the Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne, outlined the picture of a particularly tense health situation in the Alpine region: Haute-Savoie still has the highest incidence rate in France (485.4/100,000 inhabitants) just ahead of neighboring Savoie (385.9/100,000) and Isère (365.2/100,000).
Charles-Ange Ginésy, president of the Departmental Council, participated in this meeting: “the question of opening ski resorts is essential for the mountain economy. Indeed, the Alpine mountain activity represents more than 2,000 jobs. This consultation allowed us to address the implementation of a specific health protocol in our stations and notably the opening of testing centers in ski resorts, with the support of the Departmental Councils.”
