Plans for a Europe-wide qualification have French instructors up in arms about an invasion by their English counterpartsFirst it was the Polish plumber, France's favourite bogeyman accused of arriving with hordes of hard-working eastern Europeans to steal French jobs.Now, hot on his heels comes a new Gallic b�te noire: the English ski-instructor, a perfidious parvenu invading Alpine resorts and taking the vin chaud from the mouths of locals.It may seem unlikely that a country whose 1988 Winter Olympic hopes were focussed on Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards - a national hero despite finishing last in the ski jump - could pose a threat to the French, who have been skiing for an estimated 5,000 years.Simmering resentment on the slopes appears to have been brought to a boil, however, by plans to introduce a new continent-wide qualification, the European professional card, for those teaching the sport.French moniteurs and monitrices, as they are known, have cried foul saying the new test is a dumbing down of their jobs and creates "unfair competition".The row erupted in one of France's leading daily newspapers Lib�ration whose headline read: "Europe: After the Polish plumber, the English ski instructor".The Polish plumber became the caricatured symbol of widespread fear of job losses in France - and in Britain - when several eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004.In the Alpine resort of La Tania, Manchu Dugit, a director with the Ecole du Ski Fran�ais (ESF), whose ubiquitous red-suited instructors have lost their monopoly of the slopes in many French resorts, told the paper: "The competition with foreign instructors, particularly the British, is fierce."His colleague Pierick Queffeuleu said: "While we are overqualified, three-quarters of foreign instructors who come here are on work experience and haven't passed any technical test. We have to do on average five years training and don't see why the levels should be reduced.""Absolutely not true," according to Sue Dixon of the British company Supreme Ski, based in Courchevel."We are only allowed to employ fully qualified instructors. If they are partly qualified or trainees then they can only work for French companies," she told the Guardian.Steve Ricketts, of the British Alpine Ski and Snowboard School, which has 30 British instructors in nine French resorts, said: "I've been a ski instructor for 25 years and we have to work even harder to get our qualifications to work in France," he said.There are 16,000 ESF instructors in France and he said the estimated 180 qualified British instructors were hardly a major threat."I don't believe there are a lot of unqualified British instructors on the slopes. If there were we'd be the first ones to complain."Even experienced and qualified British ski instructors need to pass demanding French tests before being allowed to work officially in France."This is nothing new. It's been awkward forever and it's why there are actually relatively few British instructors. The French make it so difficult for us and we have to be much better qualified," said one British ski school employee, who did not want to be named for fear of upsetting the French.The new qualification would enable greater freedom of movement for instructors throughout the EU, but in a recent meeting to agree on the details for the new tests, France was said to have raised multiple objections.The Lib�ration article brought criticism from some commentators that the French were being protectionist."A very good example of nefarious protectionism," one post on the paper's website read: "It would be better if our instructors learned English"."If the instructors with their five years' experience had taken English or German lessons they'd have less to complain about," read another.Around 500,000 British skiers visit France very season and many prefer to take lessons in English."It is undoubtedly better to teach someone in their own language ... the British tend to concentrate on ability and the French on technique, but there's not that much difference between French and British instructors," Ricketts said."As far as I'm concerned, there's room on the slopes for everyone."FranceSkiingFranceKim Willsherguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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