French ski resorts' reopening hinges on COVID situation by Jan. 20 - minister (updated)

Compagnie des Alpes SA

08/01/2021 11:12

(Adds comments from Compagnie des Alpes)
    PARIS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The French government will only
permit ski resorts to reopen lifts if the COVID-19 situation by
Jan. 20 allows for this, a minister said on Friday.
    "The government's decision on Jan. 20 must by guided only by
the situation of the epidemic," French junior tourism minister
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said on BFM television.
    Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday that restaurants
in France would remain shuttered until at least mid-February and
ski resorts might not open before the February holiday because
the coronavirus was still spreading too fast and hospitals
remained under severe pressure.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JI215
     The chairman and chief executive of French ski resorts
operator Companie des Alpes  CDAF.PA  told BFM Business radio
earlier on Friday that reopening ski resorts in February was a
"life and death issue for some (sector) players".
    "If we cannot open in February, we must face reality, the
season is over," Dominique Marcel told BFM business.
    The French February school holidays start on Feb.6 in some
regions. 
    The coronavirus has claimed 66,841 lives in France, the
seventh-highest death toll in the world.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JI2G2

 (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Gareth Jones)
 ((dominique.vidalon@thomsonreuters.com; +33149495432; Reuters
Messaging: dominique.vidalon.reuters.com@reuters.net))