PARIS (Reuters) – France’s ski resorts are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so one French winter sports enthusiast did the next best thing on Wednesday – skiing down a steep street in Paris.
“Because the government has closed down ski resorts, we do what we can,” said the urban skier, who gave his name as Nathan. “We’re reduced to doing this, unfortunately.”
Paris was blanketed in snow, but skiing conditions were far removed from the wide, sweeping pistes of the French Alps.
In the city’s hilly Monmartre district, Nathan tried to ski down a steep section of cobbles running alongside a flight of steps that visitors climb to reach the Sacre Coeur church.
But his skis skittered over the thin snow covering and he fell repeatedly, colliding several times with trees.
Later, he moved on to a small patch of grass directly beneath the church, where he was able to get in several successful, if short, runs.
(Reporting by Antony Paone; Writing by Michaela Cabrera and Christian Lowe; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
