If "Annecy 2018" is well known to everyone, "Mont-Blanc 2018" is a slogan less familiar to the inhabitants of the valleys of Chamonix and Sallanches. Yet, for several years, the Pro Mont Blanc associations collective is working to register the Massive in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The question is not whether the site should be protected or not, but rather what tool to use to do it. Italy and France are in favor of the classification to Unesco. Switzerland declared it "would not interfere with the decisions." In due course, it is the governments that will address the application to the international organization. Meanwhile, they have left to local officials the task of setting up the folder. If our Italian neighbors, including the five local districts Valdigne, endorsed the idea, the French local districts are divided. Vallorcine, Chamonix, Les Houches and Servoz are ready to set up working groups, but the mayor of St. Gervais is against: "We must first deal with the problem of the overcrowding of the site before its inclusion in the Unesco, for this new label will attract even more people". He added: "Local officials should be consulted as a priority on this type of case. " Jean-Marc Peillex proposed the classification of the massif as "large site" in February 2009; A label "franco-french which would have little impact," according to the association, "while the Unesco classification would allow encompassing the mountain and living areas." There is also unsuitable "the National Park label, which only covers the sites 100% natural, or the regional park label, not enough binding". The association noted in passing that "if the site registry in the World Heritage had taken place earlier, it would have avoided some problems, such as the delineation of areas hosting the 2018 Olympic Games, since the sensitive areas have already been defined by the Unesco protocol". The Pro Mont-Blanc president will meet this weekend some elected of the valley to "establish a timetable and working groups to analyze the pros and cons of classification in the UNESCO heritage, including the consequences for residents, tourism, transport, etc. ... ". He hopes that the application "will be ready within two years," foe a classification of the site in 2018. And to conclude: "The discussions on the implications of the Annecy candidacy have not dragged, while the Unesco project is eight years in the drawers. This is proof that the environment is still not a priority ... " Le Dauphiné
