French Ski Resorts Still Waiting To Hear Whether Ski Lifts Can Open
4th January 2021
Last modified on May 13th, 2021
It was stated in December as Xmas and New Year restrictions were put in place that the lifts would open on January 7th – that’s today. The government is making an announcement later and it is expected they will remain shut. UPDATED
“We are still waiting on the government to confirm. Suffice to say we are getting pretty impatient….
“The ski areas are being prepared, but for now, no concrete confirmation for the 7th,” was how on resort official from the Portes du Soleil ski area put it to us earlier in the week.
French media reported on Wednesday afternoon that the government would not now make his announcement until Thursday.
It’s not looking hopeful.
Last week a French government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal, said that opening the ski lifts was “very unlikely” to happen due to the still-high levels of Covid-19 in the country.
The closure over Xmas and New Year led to an 80% drop in the economic activity of ski resorts compared to the previous year.
If, as expected, the lifts remain shut then the government will decide on a new provisional reopening date at a Defence Council meeting next week.
President Macron has said he wanted daily cases in France to be at 5,000, but they remain at a consistent 15,000 per day.
We raised the question of the lifts being able to open last week.
Will the ski lifts turn in France on January 7th?
Already the reopening of cafés, bars and restaurants in France, originally scheduled for January 20th, will not happen according French media quoting government sources.
French media says that the reopening “definitely won’t be on January 20th” after several ministers including Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the reopening could not be guaranteed.
A meeting of the Defence Council, which deals with health restrictions, took place on Monday.
The reopening on museums, theatres, cinemas and cultural spaces was also supposed to happen on January 7th, but the government has said that the current health circumstances have seen them postpone the date.
“It will not be possible to reopen cultural establishments on January 7th because the virus is still circulating very rapidly in our country,” said government spokesperson Gabriel Attal on Friday during an interview with TF1.
Italy was also due to open its ski resorts on January 7th but the authorities have confirmed that will not be happening.
Italy delays opening ski resorts
The date of 18th January is being mooted as the next possible date.
Resorts in Slovakia have closed as the cases of coronavirus continue to grow.
Ski resorts shut in Slovakia as Covid-19 surges
Andorra has managed to open some ski areas, but it is for locals only.
Andorra opens some ski resorts for locals only
Here at PlanetSKI we’ll keep you posted on the situation in France and we expect an announcement shortly.
