A French appeals court judge if Chambery has found against British tour operator Le Ski in the company's appeal against their prosecution for ski hosting in France.
The judge's decision came despite Le Ski's lawyer arguing that as some groups of people, including school teachers, were allowed to lead groups on French ski slopes without having top level French ski instructor qualifications, it was discriminatory and therefore in breach of European law, to stop British tour operators from allowing their staff to host clients free of charge.
Le Ski say they hope now to appeal to the High Court in Paris and, if necessary, the European Court.
Ski hosting is a service offered by British tour operators in ski resorts around the world, with a similar service offered by many resorts themselves, which essentially allows skiers employed by the company who know the resort well but do not have formal ski teaching qualifications, to 'host' groups on a tour of the easy slopes close to the resort at the start of their holiday to give them advice on the main attractions of the ski area for their ability level.
Le Ski has been backed in their court case, which began with the arrest of members of their staff in early 2013, by a group of ten British tour operators, including the country's three largest ski tour operators, who have all ceased hosting activities, although some now operate similar services in conjunction with some French ski schools, and/or have non-skiing staff positioned at key points in the lift network at French resorts to give advice.
The French National Ski School, the ESF, has been keen to distance itself from responsibility for the legal action, but the courts have made cash awards in damages to the ESF, apparently implying that if Brits were not given free tours they'd pay French ski instructors to take them round. However the appeal court is reported to have reduced the initial award.
"We are very disappointed to report that Le Ski's Chambery appeal against the ski hosting ruling has been rejected. The court did uphold part of the appeal referring to Le Ski's insurance policy which it confirmed did cover the company for ski hosting. The court also substantially reduced the amount of damages which had been awarded to the Ecole du Ski Français (ESF)" said a statement from the group of British tour operators supporting Le Ski, who are Alpine Elements, Crystal Ski Holidays, Esprit Ski, Inghams, Mark Warner, Neilson, Ski Olympic, Ski Total, Skiworld and Thomson Ski.
The case, and other separate French court cases against the Ski Club of Great Britain and others, has been reported as a France v Britain issue in some media outlets, but there are reports of court actions against clubs and companies from other countries, and from within France, under the same or similar circumstances, including for other outdoor activities besides snowsports, and while the issue is mostly confined to France, at least one Austrian area is known to be taking a similar stance.