Paris (AFP)
Mountain professionals will still have to wait to find out whether they can start their season during the Christmas holidays, a decision that will be taken "in the next ten days", Matignon told them on Monday, depending on a health situation for the mountain. time still very degraded.
"The question of" opening or leaving the ski resorts closed for the end of the year holidays "has not yet been resolved, the two options still being considered given the uncertainties about the evolution of the situation. health ", announced the services of the Prime Minister in a press release.
"Taking into account the preparation time necessary to allow a possible opening for the end of year holidays, a decision will be taken in the next ten days," said Matignon, indicating that the health criteria will be "essential", but also coordination with "neighboring countries".
A "European coordination is carried out at the initiative of France", one indicated to Matignon.
For now, some countries like Italy and Germany are inclined to remain closed, while others like Austria are reluctant.
At midday, organizations from the sector, the National Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts, Ski Areas of France ..., the hotel and catering industry - Umih, GNI - and tourism - Alliance France Tourisme, UNPLV (rental platform tourism) had participated in a videoconference organized by Matignon with Jean Castex surrounded in particular by the Ministers of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire and Labor, Élisabeth Borne.
During an update on the pandemic, they were given a 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).
This makes the authorities fear that hospitals already congested by Covid-19 patients will not be able to accommodate ski accidents.
- Refined health protocol -
"We ardently hope for an opening but not to the detriment of public health," Jean-Luc Boch, president of the National Association of Mayors of Mountain Stations (ANMSM), told AFP.
"It seems reasonable to us to leave room for health in order to have a firm response between December 5 and 8," added Alexandre Maulin, president of Domaines skiables de France (DSF).
Professionals assured that "everything will be done to set up testing devices, barrier gestures, so that the season starts as in previous years," reported Raymond Mudry, vice-president of the departmental council of Haute-Savoie.
A health protocol has been refined for weeks under the aegis of the prefect of Savoy in the event of the reopening of the stations, a crucial issue for the white gold sector - 350 stations in France, 10 billion in economic benefits, 120,000 seasonal jobs - which achieves 13.5% of its attendance during the pre-season and around 13% at Christmas.
For Hervé Gaymard, the president of the Savoie departmental council which represents "45% of French skiing", "the important thing is that when the resorts open, everything will have been anticipated".
According to him the main question concerns the hotel and catering sector, while "some activities may remain closed, even if the stations are reopened".
Didier Chenet, president of the GNI, the employers' union of the self-employed in the sector, called for more aid in the event of closure, citing the "problem of rents" for operators, who must settle theirs and those of seasonal workers, which " can represent considerable sums ".
While restaurants will most likely remain closed in the rest of the territory during the end-of-year celebrations, Mr. Chenet also stressed that in the mountains, where "almost all of the hotels are hotel-restaurants", yes " restaurants are administratively closed, hotels must also be closed ".
The latter will thus be able "to be within the perimeter of the establishments assisted, which is not the case at present," he stressed, asking for "assistance proportional to turnover".
The main organization of the hotel and catering industry, Umih, also wanted "restaurants to be able to welcome their customers on site" and recalled that health protocols constitute "effective barriers against the spread of the virus".
sla-ag-jmt-ref / abx / pn / eb
© 2020 AFP