The state will provide "
massive aid
" to public and private mountain stakeholders to compensate for the extension of the closure of ski lifts, assured two members of the government on Monday during a trip to the Hautes-Alpes.
Read also: Closed ski resorts: 120,000 seasonal workers could fall into great precariousness
"
We will be there
" to "
guarantee the municipalities concerned
" and the ski lift operations "
minimum resources
", said the Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts, Olivier Dussopt, traveling to Saint-Étienne-en-Dévoluy , near Gap, with the Secretary of State for Rurality, Joël Giraud.
"
Holes in the racket
"
Municipalities with income related to winter tourism "
are guaranteed to receive at least what they received in 2019 in
tourist
taxes and ski lift taxes
", explained Olivier Dussopt, specifying that the decrees renewing this provision already taken in 2020 "
are being signed
" for 2021. "
It is extremely expensive but it will be enough to keep everyone out of the water
", added Joël Giraud, ex-elected representative of the region.
The government announced on January 20 that due to health restrictions linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the ski lifts could not reopen in early February, nor probably the following weeks, to the chagrin of a sector that employs hundreds of thousands of people in the mountain valleys.
“
It doesn't mean that everything will be fine
”, conceded Olivier Dussopt, “
it doesn't mean that there won't be any damage
” because “
there are always what are called holes in the racket
” .
Marie-Paule Rogou, mayor of Saint-Étienne-en-Devoluy, a town that hosts the SuperDévoluy ski resort, worried about the Minister of a mountain economy "
today in agony
", particularly the local businesses.
"
Rest assured that we do our best to provide as many answers as possible
", replied Olivier Dussopt.
A major social breakdown is feared among seasonal workers, some of whom, not hired, do not benefit from partial unemployment.
"
For those who have no hiring, there is classic unemployment but (it is) unfortunately not enough
", admitted Joël Giraud.
