Fifty actions were carried out Saturday by seasonal ski lifts, in different French ski resorts, to protest against the unemployment insurance reform, which requires them to work longer before being compensated.

Opponents of the government are mobilizing even in the ski resorts. Saturday, seasonal ski lifts have multiplied actions to express their concerns about the unemployment insurance reform. From the Alps to the Pyrenees, around fifty actions have been identified by the CGT, at the origin of this mobilization with FO. 200 people were thus present on the route to Arcs and Val-Thorens to distribute leaflets to holidaymakers.

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At the heart of the mobilization: the repercussions of the new method of calculating compensation which comes into effect on April 1. The reform aims to put an end to a situation currently more favorable, for the same amount of work, to people alternating short contracts and inactivity (as can be a seasonal worker) than to those working continuously. "It is vital", explains Pascal Claverie, tracker rescuer in Deux-Alpes and FO delegate, at the microphone of Europe 1. "We are just talking about coming with compensation which is at the level of the poverty threshold, but this threshold of poverty barely survives in France, "he adds.

"We are determined to preserve our way of life"

"We are in tourist places, where life is still very expensive," explains Pascal Claverie. "What will become of us? We are determined to preserve our way of life." And the tracker-rescuer to recall the importance of seasonal contracts for the French economy. "In society, one contract in 8 is a seasonal contract and we represent 7.3% of GDP", he lists, before regretting: "Too bad we are forgotten about the reform".