A new tendency to strike hits French ski resorts

Following the strike last week by lift workers in Courchevel which paralysed the ski resort, seasonnaire lift workers around French resorts staged a ‘late start' to lift services this Sunday to demonstrate their cause.

Many workers refused to open lifts for an hour from around 08:00 in many ski resorts, including Les Menuires, Val Thorens, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Les Deux Alpes and Flaine. Despite the strike, the workers were not intending to aggravate skiers and many were distributing juice and pastries to early-bird skiers waiting for the lifts to open.

The root of the problem involves the rights of season workers. It's all complicated, but in France a season worker has a temporary contract. After the contract has finished, they are entitled to claim the dole, which is what many do interseason.

France's ever-decreasingly popular President Sarkozy wants to force the season workers to find either permanent jobs or other work in between seasons. To this end, any season worker who has worked three consecutive seasons will no longer be able to claim dole.

It is thought that within the Savoyard ski resorts alone there are 15 000 people who work on a season contract basis.

As to whether the strikes will get results and if they'll escalate to other resorts, we'll just have to wait and see!