Ski louts cause chaos on slopes

MAYORS IN French mountain regions are demanding a crack-down on skiing "hooligans" after a series of serious injuries over the Christmas holidays and a disturbing rise in the number of accidents last year.

The mayor of Bresse, in the Vosges, wants gendarmes-on- skis for every slope. Several villages and towns in the French Alps have given the force of law to the "10 commandments" in the safety code of the international skiing federation. The tougher approach follows a 17 per cent increase in the number of accidents on the French slopes in the 1997-98 season. There has also been a fracture-strewn opening to this season, attributed partly to new equipment, such as mono-skis and ski-boards.

But local officials and ski professionals also report a surge of bad and thoughtless behaviour. "We are in a time of everyone-for-themselves, of selfishness," said Jean-Louis Costerg, president of the French association of ski-slope managers. "It's a social problem, which starts in the towns, not in the snow."

The stricter public tone was set by the deputy chief prosecutor in Albertville earlier this month when he called for a three-month jail sentence for a teenager who collided with and killed a 10-year-old boy at Courcheval two years ago. "I intend to be very severe with everyone who thinks they can do whatever they please on the slopes," said Rene Ternoy. In the event, the court passed a suspended sentence.

Guy Vaxelaire, mayor of Bresse, a ski station in the Vosges, called for direct policing of the slopes on Saturday after four serious accidents in the past week.