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HEALTH

French government confirms ski lifts to stay closed but says holidays ‘possible’

Ski lifts in France will remain closed throughout February, the French government has confirmed, but the secretary of state for tourism has said "it is still possible" to go on holiday despite high infection levels that have pushed France to the verge of a third lockdown.

Published: 2 February 2021 08:35 CET
French government confirms ski lifts to stay closed but says holidays 'possible'
Avid skiers will have to do without help from ski lifts if they head for the mountains this month. Photo: AFP

Ski holiday resorts in France will not be able to operate their ski lifts during the upcoming February school holidays as hoped, with no date envisioned for when they may get back in business, the government has confirmed.

“The evolution of the health situation does not permit us, at this stage, to reopen the ski lifts,” Prime Minister Jean Castex's office announced on Monday evening, following a meeting with the winter sport sector.

Faced with rising Covid-19 rates and hospital patient numbers, France has toughened its restrictions in a last-ditch bid to avoid a third nationwide lockdown, including closing non-EU borders and large shopping centres.

But for the moment no ban has yet been issued on travel between regions and ministers said on Tuesday that it was still possible to take a holiday or visit family and friends in a different part of France – while warning that the situation could change quickly.

“At the moment, there are no restrictions on travelling,” said Junior Minister Emmanuelle Wargon on Tuesday.

“The holidays can take place,” she told French TV channel BFM. “However, of course, as you know, our decisions evolve every day. . . alongside the evolution of the virus,” she added. “Things can always change.”

Secretary of state of tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne also told BFM: “Today, going on holiday is possible. There are no restrictions on circulating between the regions.”

The February school holidays begin in some regions of France on Saturday, February 6th.

“There is a capacity to go on holiday, but it's important to remain vigilant when doing so, like people in France did over Christmas,” Lemoyne said. “That means for example not hesitating to get tested if you plan to visit your grandparents.” 

But the ministers warned things could change quickly and with Macron holding another Defence Council meeting with top ministers on Wednesday a future lockdown could still be on the cards.

“We will be extremely vigilant… we monitor the health situation every day, the number will dictate the rest,” said Lemoyne. “We will update the French as regularly as possible.”

Case rates, hospital rates and death rates continue their slow and steady rise in France, though Health Minister Olivier Véran said on Sunday that things were looking better than feared.

The number of new coronavirus cases had barely increased over the past week, he told Le Journal du Dimanche, while other indicators – such as traces of the virus detected in waste water – were also reassuring.

But he too stressed that, if the numbers worsened, the government “won't hesitate” to impose a lockdown.

“We never said we would not re-confine in the coming 15 days if it were necessary,” the health minister said.

France's intensive care ward occupancy rate in hospitals stood at 63.6 percent nationwide on Monday, with some regions at the brink of saturation and several hospitals having to transfer patients between regions. 

France also registered its highest hospital death toll in months on Monday, with 456 fatalities due to Covid-19 registered in one day – a number unmatched since November 24th, when the country was under its second lockdown, although Monday tallies can include delayed reporting from the weekend.

Photo: Santé Publique France

Despite the government's tepid reassurances, the French public seem to be expecting a looming lockdown. Holiday booking rates dropped by 77 percent over the past few days, according to a study by the French holiday company PAP Vacances, published by France Info.

Compared to February last year, this year has seen 58.4 percent fewer holiday bookings for the February break, with the mountineering sector suffering the heaviest loss of 66.9 percent of their clients last year.

The French government has promised the ski sector to strengthen economic aid as compensation for what looks to be a saison blanche – a total write-off of the ski season.

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PROPERTY

Does falling interest rates in France mean more people are buying property?

Interest rates in France have finally begun to fall but has the drop sparked the French property market into life?

Published: 7 May 2024 17:03 CEST
Does falling interest rates in France mean more people are buying property?

After real estate professionals called 2023 an ‘annus horribilis’ in France, prospective home buyers have been hoping for the market to improve in 2024.

One particular issue last year was high interest rates for mortgages, coupled with strict loan requirements.

As a result, the number of mortgages granted dropped by 43.5 percent when comparing October 2023 with the same month the previous year, according to France’s Housing and Credit Observatory. 

However, those high rates have finally begun to fall, as experts thought they would.  

According to data from the Banque de France, average interest rates for new housing loans in March 2024 were at 3.94 percent, a decrease from 4.11 percent in February and 4.17 percent in January. 

However, the average rate from March was still considerably higher than that of February 2022 (just 1.1 percent). On top of that, and the rate of purchases and new mortgages are still at a low level.

France’s central bank published new data on Monday that found that despite the dropping rates, the total amount of real estate loans given out has continued to decrease. 

The total amount of money awarded to new mortgages in March amounted to €6.7 billion, down from €7.4 billion in February, marking the lowest value in almost 10 years according to Les Echos.

Why is the market still slow?

According to reporting by Les Echos, a big part of the problem is that overall real estate prices are still very high, even though they have started to decrease.

The Notaries of France found in their yearly report that property prices had gone down by an average of four percent across the country in 2023, but this picture depends a lot on location.

Large cities, such as Paris and Lyon, have seen greater decreases in the price per metre squared, while small-to-medium sized cities and rural areas have seen prices remain stable or even increase.

For example, property prices in the Paris region dropped by 6.9 percent year-on-year in February 2024, compared to a decrease of 2.9 percent which was the average for France’s other regions.

Additionally, would-be buyers still have to contend with France’s strict lending regulations.

READ MORE: French property: How to get a mortgage in France

In 2022, France’s council for financial stability (HCSF) issued new rules requiring that repayments – including insurance charges – must not exceed 35 percent of income, and borrowers must take on a loan with a maximum of 25 years, or 27 years in certain cases. 

In December 2023, French lawmakers attempted to take up this issue. They succeeded in making things slightly more flexible, including allowing banks to allow borrowers to take out a 27 year loan as long as they are having renovation work that represents at least 10 percent of the home’s cost.

The HCSF also changed some of the ways that banks can calculate interest, as well as giving them more leeway in giving loan-related exceptions (previously these exceptions could only account for the 20 percent a quarter). 

Is the government doing anything to boost the market?

In late-April, French MPs tried to table another bill that would loosen the regulations for granting loans even more, however it was eventually withdrawn after being criticised by the Banque de France for lacking substance. 

Any new changes will likely be announced during the next quarterly meeting between the Banque de France and the minister of finance, Bruno Le Maire, but the date has still not been announced yet.

READ MORE: Where in France will property taxes rise in 2024?

What do experts expect for this year?

In April, the French property site Meilleurs Agents published their predictions for 2024, based on data from the first quarter. According to their experts, average mortgage rates will likely continue to on the trend of decreasing slowly.

However, this will depend on the policies set by the European Central Bank, which considers factors such as inflation when making their recommendations.

The property site also predicted that property prices would continue to drop, while maintaining large disparities between big urban areas and rural ones. 

As for whether or not the market will speed up, the experts referenced the situation from 2023, when the number of property transactions (sales and purchases) fell by 20 percent. They predicted that there would still be a decrease in transactions, but that it would be lower than the one seen in 2023. 

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