- The image of the helicopter moving snow in the Pyrenean ski resort of Superbagnères struck the minds.
- Elisabeth Borne gathered this Friday mountain elected officials at the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
- She promises to develop an aid plan within six months. The president of the departmental council of Haute-Garonne expected more concrete.
"Did people have to lose their jobs in the Luchonnais? ". Georges Méric, the chairman of the Haute-Garonne departmental council, has been in turmoil since he authorized two helicopter flights on February 15 to move snow from the top of the Superbagnères station to the Piou Piou runway. peeled. He understands the devastating effect of "an image" but accepts his decision which this Friday earned him a warning shot by Elisabeth Borne, the Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, angry with "the helicogate".
A "summons", therefore, was explained in high places. "An appointment" for the local elected official, not really inclined "to receive lessons" but impatient "to be able to ask questions". Because this weekend controversy against a backdrop of global warming poses serious questions about the future of mountain territories.
“I am not in a ministry in Paris, I go every day to the field and I know the misery. The social emergency must be considered, because there are people behind, ”gets angry Georges Méric. His community has just "taken over" three Pyrenean stations. Hit hard by the winter sweetness, two - Le Mourtis and Bourg d'Oeuil - did not open completely, and the total revenue melted by 85%.
Rail sled and giant zipline
So, did this meeting make it possible to move forward with the reconversion "to the four seasons", since it is now the consecrated expression, of threatened ski resorts? Elisabeth Borne promised "within six months a full offer of support for stations to both encourage their virtuous practices in terms of the environment and help them adapt". At a time when scientists predict that the mid-altitude Pyrenees will lose half of their snowpack by 2050, the minister has decided to "speed up the transition".
But Georges Méric came out extremely disappointed. "We attended a formal meeting today," he said on Friday evening. I regret that nothing concrete was presented by Madam Minister concerning the accompaniment of the stations. "
Between the construction of a giant zipline in Superbagnères or that of a rail sled in Mourtis, Haute-Garonne has given itself five years to get out of its “all ski” resorts by investing 25 million euros. Do we have to go even faster to avoid the catastrophe? "If everything dies, it will take ten years to go up the slope," predicts the man who would have openly preferred an announcement of subsidies to a rise in suspenders.
Society
Pyrenees: "A breath of fresh air" ... At Superbagnères, we welcome the delivery of snow by helicopter despite the controversy
Planet
EXCLUSIVE. "Transporting snow by helicopter is really anti-ecological", regrets Elisabeth Borne
- Global warming
- Toulouse
- Planet
- Ski
- Pyrenees