French judge: nature is more important than snow cannons in ski resort | Abroad

The French town of La Clusaz, west of Mont Blanc, lives from winter sports. About two thousand people work on the 125 kilometers of ski slopes. “That’s about thirteen hundred families,” the mayor said. The tourists spend a lot of money in the shops and in the hotels. La Clusaz earns 20 million a year from winter sports, so the slopes are sacred. But there is a problem: there is less and less natural snow due to climate change.

The local authorities had come up with something: artificial snow. And that requires water to supply the snow cannons. A plan was drawn up to build a huge water basin measuring 148,000 square meters in a nature reserve on a nearby mountain. It did have an ecological price tag: more than 8 hectares of forest, plants and animals had to make way. Construction was to begin this month. The cost of 10 million euros was paid by the authorities.

Last month activists decided to move into the nature reserve. They built huts, campaigned, placed barricades and ‘occupied’ the area. “The water basin would cut down trees and make 58 protected animal and plant species disappear,” said Extinction Rebellion activists.

The action attracted attention. French media went through it. The Member of Parliament of the French environmental political party De Groenen, Sandrine Rousseau, visited the ‘occupied’ area. “They want to build sixty Olympic swimming pools here with water, to make artificial snow so that the elite can get on the slats,” she said. “Water is becoming rarer and there is one party here who wants to appropriate it to make a profit. That is no longer of this time. The climate should now be central.”

Five environmental organizations initiated summary proceedings. The judge has now ruled. The construction of the water basin must be suspended. The court has ‘serious doubts’ whether economic interests outweigh the protection of nature. “The consequences of the construction would be irreparable,” the verdict said.

The activists are satisfied. “This is a wonderful victory for anyone who wants to defend nature,” said regional politician Fabienne Grébert of De Groenen. “We have to think together about how we want to deal with the mountains, with nature. And for us that means in any case: an end to subsidies for snow cannons.”

The occupiers of Extinction Rebellion have announced that they will now leave the nature reserve. “We won, the forest has been saved. We don’t want any more projects that sacrifice mountains for skiers.”

The judge’s verdict is not yet a definitive answer. The court says that construction of the basin may not be started ‘for the time being’. In the meantime, the matter will be examined substantively. How heavy are La Clusaz’s economic arguments? And how compelling is the plea for nature?

The final verdict may take many months. Until then, the snow cannons will have to do without the water basin. The Greens hopes to sit down with administrators for consultations on sustainable tourism. The mayor of La Clusaz could not be reached for comment.

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