French ski resorts Val d’Isère, Les Arcs, Tignes, Villaroger and Sainte-Foy are to stage a show of solidarity with UK Remain supporters as the last Eurostar train, before the rescheduled Brexit departure date, leaves Bourg-Saint-Maurice for London early next month.
Some 48% of skiers who visit Val d’Isère each winter come from the UK and locals fear that, at least in the short term, the Brexit chaos may have a significant effect on future bookings. French hoteliers, ski instructors, shopkeepers, and seasonaires who make their living from the ski industry are planning a raucous send off for holidaymakers boarding the final direct train of the season as it leaves the station for St Pancras at 9.30am on 6 April 2019.
Bourg-Saint-Maurice is the railhead for nearby resorts that include Val d’Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs and La Plagne. The show of support is being coordinated by the town’s tourist board, which will be handing out more than 150 croissants. European, British and French flags will decorate the station along with banners showing support for UK visitors and anti-Brexit slogans. Rousing and nostalgic music such as Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynn, God Save The Queen and La Marseillaise will blare over loudspeakers from 7am onwards as passengers begin to arrive.
Michel Giraudy, Mayor of Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs, and Marc Bauer, Mayor of Val d’Isère said:
“We are Europeans! It seems unimaginable for our parents who built Europe to build a new barrier between France and Great Britain. It is incomprehensible for our children born in Europe, who travel without a passport, to face new constraints. And it is unacceptable for the British people living in Haute Tarentaise, and of course for the 500,000 British people who visit our region each winter, to disrupt their holidays in France.”
“The British are at home here, they have always loved the Alps. They are conquerors of many peaks including the Matterhorn and the Meije in the 19th century, and ski pioneers from the beginning of the 20th century.
“Today the British people are so close to us thanks to the Eurostar serving Bourg Saint Maurice from London every weekend in the winter season. If the Brexit is confirmed, they would have to rebuild a border control in Bourg Saint Maurice, in the heart of the Alps. Those who have imagined and built the Channel Tunnel must think that it is a «fake news», but it is not. It is the opposite of how we should be living together in Europe.”
Cécile Ferrando, Director of Communication of Val d’Isère tourism, says: “Due to current political chaos, the future of the British skiing industry remains unclear as well as how the British clientele will react next season. Everyone in Val d’Isère – accommodation, shops, ski lifts etc. – is concerned about the effects Brexit will really have. All we might say to our British clients is, keep calm and ski on!”
