The departure of the BCA caused quite a stir when first announced - the impact on the local community and economy of several hundred families moving on, the loss of an emergency service in case of disasters, etc. And it remains high up the list of concerns at the start of 2012 - they are one of the anchors of the local economy, and with the ski industry flat, there is much to think about. The French government have sweetened the pill slightly by awarding the new national advanced ski training centre to Bourg St Maurice rather than Chamonix, but it certainly makes initiatives like Bourg St Maurice 2020 all the more relevant.
So this will be the last season you will see the chasseurs on the local pistes. They have guarded my hire car at Les Ecudets (below La Rosiere), and at Les Brevieres (below Tignes). And they have scared me, with their "we do not stop for civilians" armoured car convoys on the Cormet de Roselend. You will still see them training - for example on the Les Granges piste below Arc 1800:
Here's the local news coverage where they talk about the departure from BSM:
More on the background, history etc in the Wikipedia entries, in English and (with much more detail) in French.
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