Correspondence
A LETTER FROM THE RIVIERA. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—Nowhere are the perplexities resulting from the erratic behaviour of the franc more acutely felt than on the Riviera, for its winter population—the population which chiefly pro- vides its livelihoodeounts its income principally in pounds or dollars, and to it the rate of exchange is matter of imme- diate concern. So long as the tendency of that exchange was, if with temporary fluctuations, more or less continuously to increase the value of both pounds and dollars, everything was joyous. Hotels, restaurants, bars, tearooms, shops could all put their prices up in tune with the fall of the franc and— whatever sarcastic things might be said about profiteering— nobody really minded much.
So the merry dance went on. Hotels which, when the franc was at par, charged 20 francs a day for a south room en pension could, when the rate sank to 240 last summer, ask 200 francs a day ; and to English visitors the result was about the same, except for certain taxes which have been superim- posed. But when the pound drops suddenly to 120 and threatens to go further, a rate of 200 francs a day becomes prohibitive to all except the rich, and even one of 100 francs, plus taxes, is a serious matter. So on all sides now one hears talk of a ralentissement in the flow of visitors, of engagements of rooms being cancelled, of empty restaurants and of the dismal outlook for the season. There is no need to take the talk too seriously as yet ; for something like it has been heard each year at the opening of the season. But this year it is considerably louder and has evidently better excuse.
Unchristian people will be disposed to say that it serves the Riviera—the hotel-keepers and restaurateurs—jolly well right. It may be that they have been rather " asking for it." But their plight is now unenviable. It has, first, to be said in their behalf that for the 20 francs a day in the old times they furnished nothing like the luxury that they provide to-day. The hotels themselves—those that arc not altogether new— have been rebuilt, remodelled, redecorated, re-equipped • bathrooms have been multiplied ; running water introduced in all the rooms ; sumptuous lounges added ; dancing floors laid down ; orchestras employed ; lawn tennis courts built ; the meals made immensely more elaborate. All this necessi- tates higher rates. Moreover, the hotel-keepers have to pay double the wages to all classes of labour, and most of their supplies cost three, five, seven times as much as formerly. They cannot do things on the old scale ; nor would their clients stand it if they did ; for they have pampered and spoiled their customers.
And now the crisis confronts them wherein their customers can no longer pay the rates that they must ask ; and they can neither reduce their wages nor buy their supplies any cheaper. In the French papers we read much just now of la baisse, the fall in the cost of living. _ But such reactions come slowly and no reduction is sensible yet.
There is not much immediate danger that the C6te d'Azur will lose its popularity. For one thing, the Americans are really only just discovering it. In the last two years the. American colony in Cannes and elsewhere has grown out of all knowledge ; and there are a million people in America who haVe not been here yet and are too rich to be deterred by a few
paltry dollars a day. Whether the English visitors can continue to come in undiminished numbers is more debatable. Switzerland with its winter sports, Italy and Sicily, Egypt and. all. North Africa, the South of Spain, Corsica, South Africa,. the West Indies—the competition. is growing keen and more and more the question of expense is likely to be governing. , One thing certain is that the old English clientele which made the Riviera's fame and fortune has little place here now. That clientele loved the Riviera for its scenery, its olive groves, .
its long walks along the mountain paths—and its cheapness. The olive groves are mostly gone and the mountain paths
converted into dusty .highways infested with motor-cars and
charabancs. And it is no longer cheap. In place of the old attractions it now offers dancing and bridge and lawn tennis, baccarat and music, lovely shops and glittering promenades and all the adjuncts of a gay society. Land values have gone
up several thousand times in the last eight years, from a few centimes to 130 and 150 francs a square metre. It is a new Riviera, appealing to a new constituency which must, above all, have much more money than was necessary to the old, With the fall in the value of the pound the Riviera is, plainly faced with a very difficult problem-.
Nice. YOUR RIVIERA CORRESPONDENT.
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