SnowNews

Warfare on the Pistes

An institution in the resort, the Ecole du Ski Français has been accused of being unsporting with its competitors.

This winter promises to be a hot one in the little world of French skiing. Most resorts will not open before mid-December but already trench warfare has broken out between ski instructors. On one side the "red jumpers" of the Ecole du ski français (ESF), who count some 15000 to 17000 instructors in their ranks and on the other the "greens" of the International Ski School (ESI), created in 1976 at Flaine, in the Haute-Savoie, by rebel ski instructors. Today they number some 1700 who fight the quasi monopoly which the ESF has exercised since its creation in 1945. The ski school market is a juicy one, some 180 millions euros.



What has lit the powder? The publication on the 11th of November, 2004 of a decision by the Minister of Sports, Jean-François Lamour that simply takes away the rights of small ski schools to employ and train apprentice ski instructors and consequently an important resource. Philippe Camus, the president of the ESI says that "twenty of our centers have less than ten fully qualified instructors and will therefore lose their right to employ trainees". Another blow, ESF schools that have less than ten instructors can benefit from favourable treatment because the decision allows small ski stations the right to let the main ski school continue training, at the moment only the ESF is represented on the panel that will give that right.

Of course all schools can continue to give lessons. Michel Catala, the boss of the ESI in Châtel, in the Haute-Savoie, has nine qualified instructors and the same number of trainees and sees that the directive will cut into his turnover. A spokesman for the minister says that "our concern is to guarantee the quality of training, we don't want to interfere with the economics of ski lessons". Gilles Chabert, the president of the ESF claims that "certain independent ski schools use trainees as a way of running courses and earning money, the ESF's priority is not business but training and security on the ski slopes". This statement has infuriated the independents who say that all ski schools work on the same principal.

Spanish Practises at Méribel, and Megève...

Contrary to received wisdom the ESF is not a public body but a grouping of self-employed instructors. Depending on their experience they give between 2 and 40 % of their salaries (between 35 and 45 euros gross per hour) to their ski school in order to work. The independents have higher rates but they give better training due to limited class sizes and a better knowledge of new school techniques such as snowboard. Despite these arguments in their favour they have only taken 10% of the market from the ESF. "We would have grown much quicker without the ESF getting up to no good" explained Philippe Camus. "Everywhere they get favours, spots in tourist offices, in the kid's area, on the slalom courses, whereas we are turned down".

According to Camus the ESF is behind the minister's decision as a way of maintaining their monopoly. They are going to take this to the French high court. For the last 15 years most anti-competitive practises by the ESF have been banned by the French courts. For example in February 2003 the Mayor of Megève was sentenced by the administrative court in Grenoble because he rented office space to the ESF for only 3 700 euros per year, barely 10% of the market value. A rebate approved by monitors in the resort but not accorded to the ESI. It has to be said that the director of the ESF, Gérard Apertet, is also the deputy of sports at Megève. The town hall is appealing the decision.

The monopolies commission has also been taken a close look at abusive clauses in ESF contracts with its instructors. It has cancelled the clause stopping instructors leaving to work for competitors in neighbouring resorts. It has also sentenced the lift companies in Cauterets, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Méribel-Mottaret, in the Savoie, and Grand-Bornand, in the Haute-Savoie, because they refuse to give preferential rates for ski passes and the right to use priority lift queues for courses. Advantages that are given to the ESF, of course.

This case law doesn't seem to worry anyone. At les Arcs the resort has decided to only give privileges to schools with more than six instructors. At Méribel, the tourist office is asking Pierre-François Papet, the boss of Snow Systems Ski School, for exorbitant rates compared to those of the ESF just to appear in its brochure. Papet say's he's been obliged to publish his own brochure.

According to L'Expansion, the director of the monopolies and fraud office is launching a wide reaching inquiry into anti competitive practises in the the ski school industry. He's certainly got meat on this bone.

Translated from the Expansion - 23/11/2004

Ecoles de ski: du rififi dans la poudreuse

related story: Megève Ski Instructors Fined

posted by davidof @ 9:03 PM