Paris ends ban on non-native ski instructors

Date: 15/02/1996

By Rory Watson

SKI instructors on French slopes may soon be speaking a variety of languages as the quasi-monopoly enjoyed by native teachers is brought to an end.

Under pressure from the European Commission, Paris has confirmed that it is altering rules to enable qualified EU instructors, whether German, Danish or British, to impart their skills in the country's mountain resorts.

“We have proposed a certain number of improvements. Their essential thrust is that we are recognising diplomas given in other member states. We are basically clarifying the situation,” said a senior French diplomat this week.

The changes come hard on the heels of the Commission's decision before Christmas to start legal proceedings after a seven-year campaign to ban national discrimination on French ski slopes.

In unusually strong language, the Commission noted: “Ski instructors who have qualified in other member states have encountered a persistent refusal by the French authorities to recognise their diplomas.”

One Brussels observer who has been logging such incidents said this week: “There have been a number of cases where non-French instructors have been hauled off the slopes by local police in humiliating circumstances and then fined.”

Others have noted that the clamp-down on non-French teachers is particularly severe at Chamonix, one of the country's top ski resorts and a favourite spot for training instructors.

“These problems are seasonal and come round every year. But in a way, it all depends on the snow. If it is a good season with lots of snow and lots of people, then the authorities tend to turn a blind eye to foreigners,” said a senior official.

But as France prepares to make it easier for other EU nationals to benefit from 1992 laws on the mutual recognition of diplomas, Commission lawyers are now investigating another range of obstacles appearing on French slopes.

“The changes being put forward by the French would not solve all the current problems. Recognising qualifications can be quite a lengthy procedure and would take too long for someone going to France for just a few weeks,” said a senior official.

The latest anomalies came to light after teachers leading school parties from Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark in particular were prevented from giving classes to their own pupils during brief stays in France, even though they were qualified ski instructors.

Commission lawyers are now considering the possibility of using basic EU treaty articles, rather than specific mutual recognition legislation, to solve the problem. They are investigating the possibility of using Article 59 of the Treaty of Rome, designed to ensure that people qualified to offer services in one member state can do so in another.