British ski instructor ordered to pay fine or go to jail for teaching in France without the right licence

 
Simon Butler, right, speaks to his lawyer after the court's decision
Miranda Bryant17 June 2014

A British ski instructor has accused French authorities of holding a “racist vendetta” after he was ordered to serve 200 days in prison or pay 30,000 Euros for giving skiing lessons without the correct licence.

Simon Butler, 51, who is one of Britain’s top skiers, launched an immediate appeal after he was found guilty of teaching illegally in the Alps by a French court.

He said he would “serve time behind bars” rather than pay a fine after he was sentenced by a court in Bonneville, Haute Savoie, following a long legal battle that found he was unable to provide the correct paperwork to show he can teach in France - despite having taught in the resort for 30 years.

A legal hearing at the Tribunal Correctionnel de Bonneville ruled that Butler, who is the British Masters Champion, must either go to jail for 200 days or pay 150 euros per day.

Butler, from Guildford, Surrey, said after the hearing that he was the victim of a campaign by business rivals to get him off the slopes, adding that he was being “spat on and told to go back to my own country”.

He said after the hearing that he “has no intention” of paying the fine because he believes he has “done nothing wrong”.

But Mr Butler insists that his qualifications, which he got in 1985, are the equivalent.

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