What if the French go skiing abroad this year?

This is what mountain professionals near Austria, but also Switzerland fear, because of the closure of the slopes to fight against the coronavirus.

Report from Europe 1 in the resort of Châtel, 5km from Swiss ski areas where seasonal workers see the decision to close the slopes until January 20 as an "injustice".

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"It's quite annoying to lose our customers who will go up to 5 km next to spend their money. Everyone will go there. It's a lot of shortfall for France", annoys Jackson.

This seasonal worker sells pancakes and churros in his truck in Châtel, a ski resort in Haute-Savoie very close to the border with Switzerland.

Châtel is the heart of the Portes du Soleil, one of the largest ski areas in the world with its 650 km of slopes, straddling France and Switzerland.

Who has not decided to close its stations because of the coronavirus.

An "unfair competition", according to Jackson. 

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Even if the mountain world still wants to convince the government to open the slopes for the end of the year holidays, French ski resorts should therefore remain closed until January 20, as the president said on Tuesday evening. of the Republic.

The fear of mountain stakeholders is that this will benefit Austrian and especially Swiss resorts which are open or will open. 

"A particular look at particular situations"

All this is "neither very normal nor very fair," said Nicolas Rubin, the mayor of Châtel.

And this will cause a strange disorder on the slopes on December 20, the day of the opening of the four Swiss resorts of the Portes du Soleil.

"It annoys a bit because a few meters away, the rules are completely different. I don't see how on the high points, you can prevent people from coming down to the other side of the mountain without putting a security guard there. every ten meters. There is injustice. I think that it deserves a little more finesse in the decision because a national rule cannot necessarily adapt everywhere. You have to have a particular look at situations particular, ”he says. 

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The mayor therefore calls for consultation between the two countries.

But this is far from being won since, on Wednesday, the president of the neighboring canton of Valais confirmed that the closure was not an option in Switzerland.

For its part, Germany calls on the European Union to ban ski trips by January 10 to avoid a new outbreak of the epidemic.