Will the French agree to pay for the Swiss? The standoff is in any case engaged between Swiss decision-makers and their French counterparts on the financing of a building under construction for years on the ski area of Les Rousses, straddling the two countries.
Located on the Swiss side, at the foot of the Dappes chairlift, the White Rabbit is a center including reception areas and a restaurant. Soaring material prices pushed up the cost of the project, initially estimated at 3.5 million euros. Now it will take 1.1 million more. For the Swiss, it is up to the French to bear this additional cost.
“All this is a bluff so that we pay more”
Solicited, the community of communes of Les Rousses and Sogestar, which manages the ski area on the French side, suggest that this request would have a chance of being accepted. “The link is too important, explains an elected official. We pay for equipment rental on the Swiss side. In addition, the proposal would allow us, with this investment, to become 75% owners of the building in twenty-five years. And then, this project must come to an end. »
A prospect that does not at all convince Nolwenn Marchand, the president of the community of communes of Les Rousses, in the minority on this file: “The rent that we pay for the estate is already very favorable to the Swiss. We let ourselves be too impressed. A few years ago, they threatened to dismantle the infrastructure of the estate if we couldn’t find an agreement. Now, it is the building which, in fact, is almost finished. It’s all a bluff to get us to pay more. »
Last argument of the opponents of this big investment, the prospects of snow cover which promise to be increasingly rare in this mid-mountain area. French elected officials will have to decide on this Swiss request on January 20. According to the latest polls, the trend is towards acceptance.