A British ski teacher is facing jail in the French Alps following a crackdown on foreign instructors.
Simon Butler, a ski instructor with more than three decades of experience on the slopes, is standing trial this week for allegedly teaching skiing without the correct paperwork for non-French instructors. He runs holidays in Megeve, Haute-Savoie.
According to the Telegraph, Butler, who is the British Masters champion for skiers over the age of 30, was arrested on a chairlift in February.
Two members of staff, charged with the same offence, have already left France before the trial.
In an interview ahead of his trial, Butler said he has been forced to close one of his two hotels mid-season and has lost £350,000 in cancelled bookings.
He said he could be imprisoned over what has become a “point of principle”.
It is understood that the dispute is based on the fact that the instructor qualified before the introduction of a rule that all non-French teachers had to pass the ‘Eurotest’ to be able to work in France.
The French embassy believes Butler has been “operating illegally” by teaching without passing the test first.
However, Butler claims his documents are in order and that the qualifications he achieved in 1985 are the equivalent of the test, He says that he has battled for 15 years to have his license approved.
He said: “This whole farce has affected my business to the point that I have had to close a hotel. Our bookings have dwindled because our returning clients don’t want to ski without our experienced instructors.”
“The French want me off the slopes and they want to restrict the number of British instructors coming over here.”