Thursday morning 22nd February 2018, the staff of Meteo France has stopped working against 500 job cuts out of the 3000 that the organization will have by 2022.
Meteo France on strike
The strike will last 4 days, from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25 February 2018. The employees of Meteo France ask:
"A public service in modern state-of-the-art meteorology for all the territories and for all local actors. Through their actions, they want to make visible the needs of users, companies and elected officials in terms of meteorological and climate assistance."
According to Radio Mont Blanc, the deletions are jeopardizing the survival of the offices of Chamonix and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which have the immense advantage to be closer to the field compared to other offices.
"The mountain centers of Chamonix and Bourg-Saint-Maurice were created during significant episodes, as the great avalanches of Val d'Isère in 1970. These centers have a real expertise and an acute perception of the local stakes." explained Serge Taboulot, head of the meteorological center of the Northern Alps of Meteo France.
According to France 3, professionals and elected representatives from Mountain areas are very worried. They work closely with forecasters to manage avalanche risk.
If the two offices will disappear, the weather forecast and the avalanche risk services for the Northern Alps will be provided by the center of Grenoble.
Video Reportage France 3 published on 28th January 2018
Towards the end of the mountain weather centers...
According to Radio Mont Blanc, the town halls of Chamonix and Bourg-Saint-Maurice wrote to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Nicolas Hulot, to ask him to stop the closure decision of both offices.
