French unions have announced they were be striking throughout February and lift service may be impacted. The full impact of the French ski lift strike on resorts and lift services in France is not confirmed.
The first official France ski lift strike has been announced for January 31st.
The dispute, similar to many disputes here in the UK surrounds issues with pension reforms and benefits to seasonal workers – naturally impacting the French ski industry.
Unlimited strike action has been confirmed by two main unions in France – Force Ouvrière (FO), which represents ski lift operators and the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT). However, it remains to be seen how that will impact guests, holiday makers, skiers and snowboarders. Many French ski resorts and UK tour operators have indicated that the overall impact will be minimal.
A statement has been released by Les Arc which you can see below;
“”We received a provisional notice of strike from a part of our staff for Tuesday 31/12/23, to protest against the new pension reform in France. Unlike the media messages (French and international), this strike is scheduled only for Tuesday 31/12/23 and non to an unlimited extent. The same strike took place on 19/01/23 with no consequences on our ski area opening, with no impact for our clients skiing on this day. We will do our best to minimize again the impact on our customers and we deplore the negative and stressful messages delivered by the media. A communication from our partner, Domaine Skiable de France, has been released recently, which also deplores these wrong and negative messages.””
Les Arcs
How will the French ski lift strike impact you?
If the previous French ski resort strike that took place on January 19th is any indication, then you probably won’t realise a strike is going on.
But, if any delays are incurred. For example less lifts are operational then you will know what and you can plan accordingly – including altering your route around the piste for example.
If you’re planning your holiday now, then don’t forget to take a look at the French piste maps available and search French ski holidays here.