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The French ski resorts can open during the Christmas holidays, but the ski lifts will remain closed: France's Prime Minister Jean Castex made this clear on Thursday at a press conference on the planned relaxation of the Corona requirements.
The French lift operators spoke of a "crazy" decision.
Austria, on the other hand, is actively promoting ski tourists.
The president of the French ski lift association, Alexandre Maulin, said he was "devastated".
The start of the season is now flat for skiers.
President Emmanuel Macron had previously emphasized that opening the ski resorts on the holidays seemed "impossible" to him due to the continued high number of corona infections.
France is currently negotiating a common line between the Alpine countries with Germany and other EU countries.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is urging to keep all European ski areas closed until January 10th in order to prevent new corona outbreaks like the one in Ischgl in Austria last winter.
Italy also supports this.
Austria, on the other hand, wants to keep skiing open and only ban après-ski
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