On January 31, two French unions representing ski hotel staff plan to approve an indefinite strike in February. This is the busiest time of year for hotels and threatens to annoy many tourists during school holidays. Many of those hotels were also severely affected by the lack of snow prior to this season.
The two unions involved are Force Ouvrière (FO), which represents operators, and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), which represents seasonal workers, who are protesting against the French government’s plan to reform the retirement age.
FO union leader Eric Becker said in an interview that he didn’t need to hurt the corporations that are suffering but that demands have always been heard more during this period. The CGT union has also called for a vigorous strike at the Ski World Cup taking position in Courcheval and Meribel from 16 to 20 March.
French school holidays in February are distributed over a constant period of one month depending on the region, so that ski resorts can enjoy them for longer; This year, the holidays will run from the fourth of February to the fourth of March.
Millions of tourists will also arrive from other EU countries, as well as the UK. The UK Foreign Office has warned British tourists that they are making plans for many facilities to simply be disrupted. Unionized rail staff are also planning a strike on Jan. 31 and are contemplating further disruptions.
Some ski resorts minimize the influence of strikes. The ski resorts of Portes du Soleil, which cover France and Switzerland, believe that many employees are not part of the unions and that the resorts will not be affected too much.
More than a million people took part in the strike on January 19 to protest plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. In the case of these two unions, higher wages and greater unemployment insurance are not easy either.
Anyone who makes plans to travel on school holidays in France will have to protect themselves with travel insurance.