Illustrative photo of a helicopter from the High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) at Mont-Blanc. - JEFF PACHOUD / AFP

  • Interior Minister Christophe Castaner presented containment measures to fight the coronavirus on Monday evening.
  • Sport remains authorized "near the home", provided that you are alone and in possession of a certificate.
  • Mountain Rescuers Call On Practitioners To Avoid Risk

Since Tuesday noon, all French people are placed in confinement. However, they remain free to leave their home if they are in possession of a certificate, in particular for "short trips, near the home, linked to the individual physical activity of the people, to the exclusion of any collective sports practice "

For mountain sports enthusiasts, there is a great temptation to go trekking in the heights of the hinterland. But is it possible? The blur remains. “Even if in the mountains, you feel less affected than in the city, you have to respect the confinement measures that apply to everyone. Playing sports is not prohibited as long as the activity remains close to home, as it is practiced individually and responsibly, "said Captain Corentin Hassmann, commander of the High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) of Alpes-Maritimes.

Leave room for real emergencies

Like the PGHM of Chamonix Mont-Blanc, rescuers from the massifs of the country take turns recommending to practitioners "to reduce their activities to the strict minimum, ideally to suspend their activities during the crisis".

“The idea is to really limit medical emergencies. When you pick up someone in the mountains, you often drop them off at the hospital and they will occupy a bed, ”says David Petitjean, commander of the CRS Alpes (Grenoble, Albertville, Briançon and Nice).

"Every minute that will be devoted by the medical teams to mountain rescue could be cut off from the management of the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic, and therefore, ultimately , very probably at the expense of another patient", adds the Chamonix Mont-Blanc PGHM.

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Shelters remain open, but without a caretaker

To stem the Covid-19 epidemic, the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM), which has 95,000 members, has announced that it has closed its chalets. The shelters will remain open in non-guarded mode, but must be reserved for people in distress.

  • Coronavirus
  • Containment
  • Nice
  • Mountain