During his visit in Haute-Savoie on 13 February 2020, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, vowed to protect the Mont-Blanc massif from global warming and overcrowding.
Under the aegis of Secretary of State to the Minister of Ecological Transition and Solidarity Emmanuelle Wargon, elected officials and the administration quietly worked during the confinement. The decree that strengthens the protection of the Mont-Blanc massif is almost done.
President Macron vows to protect the Mont-Blanc massif
Although there have always been people who bent the rules and disrespected the mountains, things took a turn for the worse in the summer of 2019.
Among the most notorious incidents that happened in the summer of 2019 in the Mont-Blanc massif, two Swiss climbers illegally landed a plane near the Mont-Blanc summit and a British tourist abandoned his rowing machine near the Mont-Blanc summit.
The whole world watched in disbelief and shock these incidents, and Jean-Marc Peillex, the mayor of Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc, took action. He urged President Macron to take action against people misusing and disrespecting the mountain.
Soon after, President Macron wrote a letter to Jean-Marc Peillex, reassuring the mayor that he wants to better protect the roof of Europe from the high tourist influx during the summer season.
What followed was President Macron's visit in Haute-Savoie, when he promised to better protect the Mont-Blanc massif from overcrowding.
A decree to protect the Mont-Blanc massif
Emmanuel Macron had announced the establishment of a "protected area" for the massif.
He had ordered the state services, in connection with elected officials and mountain users, to trace its contours, under the aegis of Emmanuelle Wargon, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Ecology and within the framework of the law on biodiversity.
This work has continued in recent months and has accelerated again since the end of confinement.
The Mont-Blanc natural habitat protection decree must define the overall framework for the protection and preservation of the massif.
According to Le Dauphine, a draft decree is even ready to be presented to the municipal councils of Chamonix and Saint-Gervais.
This document, named “Mont Blanc Natural Habitat Protection Order”, actually has a much broader purpose: it must define the overall framework for the protection and preservation of the massif.
The document will, therefore, contain guidelines on what can and cannot be done in the mountains, but also a summary of the rules of mountaineering on the high mountain access routes experienced over the past two summers (booking of refuges, surveillance, etc.).
Source @ Le Dauphine
