French Ski Resorts Breathe Sigh of Relief as No New Lockdown

4th February 2021

Last modified on May 20th, 2021

It will be welcomed by ski resorts as the February holiday period approaches. The ski lifts will still not be allowed to turn but some travel is allowed and accommodations can remain open. It is though scant compensation for a season wrecked by Covid-19.

The French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, has said there will not be another national lockdown, but he said the situation remains ‘fragile’.

“We must stick with the current restrictions we already have in place,” said the French Prime Minister on Thursday.

“The situation today does not justify a new national lockdown”.

“We are not where we were in October.”

France currently has a 18:00 curfew in place in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

Ski resorts remain open though the ski lifts are unable to turn.

Bars, restaurants are closed but can offer a take-away service.

Museums and gyms remain closed.

All non-essential travel to and from non-EU countries is banned so UK citizens are unable to enter France.

People are able to travel within France and that is welcomed by the ski resorts.

“We have chosen not to limit travel between the regions, such a measure would have been justified if the circulation of the virus was uneven between the regions but this is not the case.”

The resorts are offering alternative activities on snow to French nationals in an attempt to rescue the season.

They hope people will want to come to the mountains, obey all the coronavirus rules and take a holiday in the mountains.

Participating in other activities.

The Prime Minister reminded people that it was “imperative” to work from home whenever possible and called on people to do everything they can do to avoid a third lockdown.

An opinion poll suggests as many as 55% want another lockdown, and young people are more keen on it than over-65s.

New Covid-19 cases in France remain high compared to the other alpine nations though they have stabilised.

It has 214 confirmed cases per 100,000 of population over a 7-day period.

In Italy it is 143, Switzerland is at 130 and Austria 108.

The UK stands higher than France at 255.

France had declared it wanted cases to be at 5,000 per day – they remain at 20,000.

Here at PlanetSKI we will be gauging reaction from the resorts so do check back…