French plan to 'americanise' Chamonix

Gone are the days of a surly lift attendant, choking on a Gitane, grunting incomprehensibly at unsuspecting tourists. Or that's what the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc would have us believe.

Following Sarkozy's rapprochement with the States, and having seen the success of a similar initiative in Megève, the lift operators of Chamonix are busy recruiting a team of ambassadeurs, hired to charm the ski-pants off visitors to the resort this season.

"Taking into account the complexity of the resort, this was a request submitted to us in customer satisfaction surveys," explained CMB representative Raymond Ducroz to Le Dauphiné.

As well as a warm welcome, these volunteers (who are in it for little more than a season lift pass and some fashionable clobber) will be on hand at lift stations to offer useful tips to the unitiated, like never to ski in Argentière on a hangover.

French phrase of the day - "Eh ben, j'en sais rien, moi" - what they used to say, i.e "I'm terribly sorry but I'm unable to assist you at this present moment in time"