ELECTIONS ROUND-UP

The 2nd round of the French presidential elections saw Savoie vote for Macron over Le Pen by a 65% to 35% margin.  A result which almost exactly followed the national picture.

Locally, the valley tends to vote for the candidates of the right, but not of the far right.

Val d'Isere is the most notable example of this pattern - with 52% voting for Fillon in the 1st round - not far off the 58% recorded by Sarkozy in 2012. Yet just 12% supported Le Pen, and she trailed in 4th place - just behind Melenchon (12%) and Macron (11%).  Come the second round, the village voted strongly for Macron, by 72% to 28%.

Tignes followed a similar pathway, albeit without quite such thumping first-round victory for Fillon.

Bourg-St-Maurice is more of a mixed bag politically, with Fillon emerging out in front after the first round, but only just.  Again, Marine Le Pen came in fourth:

Bourg-Saint-Maurice 1st round results

Click here to explore all the results

Set against all this, the most politically interesting village in the valley is Landry, which put Melenchon first, with all the main candidates putting in a decent showing.

Séez is notable for having Le Pen narrowly ahead in round 1, albeit defeated by 62-38 in the run-off.  The FN candidate did relatively well in Villaroger too.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Montvalezan (below La Rosiere) saw one of the heaviest victories for Macron last Sunday, by 76% to 24%.

Next up: the parliamentary elections in June...

WHAT NEXT FOR LES ARCS? The Ski Area

The latest update from Avenir et Animations des Arcs summarises some of the changes coming up in Les Arcs over the coming years.  There's going to be a fair amount of activity both on the mountain and in the resorts.

On the mountain, the lift company's plans include:

Summer 2016
- Further improvements to the area around the Le Lodge restaurant
- Free access to the Villards lift to take you up to Mille 8
- Inauguration of the new club house on the golf course; the idea being that this becomes a focal point for summer visitors
- A new mountain bike track at Mille 8
- Improvements to key footpaths including the balcon sentier at Villaroger and the route to Notre Dame des Vernettes at Peisey

Sumer walking below the Grand Col

Christmas 2017 (sic).  I assume this means the forthcoming season, but not sure...
- New investment in the lower part of the Arc 2000 valley, centred on the replacement of the ancient Pré Saint Esprit Lift
- Remodelling and widening of some of the pistes
- Artificial snowmaking at Villaroger

Programme 2018-2020
- More investment in snowmaking
- Modernisation of the Transarc
- New carriages for the funicular
- Replacement of the Comborciere and Vallandry lifts

The Villards lift to Mille 8 will now run summer and winter

This is all part of what appears to be a reasonably coordinated plan also involving the town hall and private investors, who are putting money into improving the infrastructure and boosting the numbers of visitors.  The battle against the "lits froids", apartments occupied for only a few weeks a year, continues.

These investments - in the mountain and in the resorts - amount to some  €450-€500m between now and 2020.  More on the plans for the resorts soon.

THE VANOISE NATIONAL PARK: 1963-2015 RIP

(My rudimentary translation taken from the Alpes Magazine editorial, Dec 2015-Jan 2016)

As we put together the latest version of this magazine, including an article taking us to a wild and secret part of the Tarentaise, far from its ski factory image....we see the majority of the 29 communes who make up the Vanoise National Park refuse to sign the new charter.  This new charter would offer a new future to this area of outstanding natural, in line with the Giran Law, adopted by Parliament in 2006.

Only the municipal councils of Peisey-Nancroix and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville voted in favour of the charter.  Old-fashioned arguments, coupled with a complete lack of political courage, are at the heart of this.  An opportunity has been lost, for utterly irrational reasons.  An opportunity to safeguard a common approach to the area's heritage, to keep a national park which is a shop window for La Savoie, and indeed for the whole of the French Alpes.

Not everyone has the opportunity to live at the gates of a national parti, a treasure in both ecological and economic terms.  

Not everyone has the opportunity to be able to safeguard, for future generations, these protected national spaces.  

Not everyone will have the opportunity to build a different type of mountain area.  One which has achieved a great balance between taking advantage of both the fabulous ski areas and the beauty of the surrounding wilderness.  

This opportunity is the one that the majority of communes in the Tarentaise and the Haute Maurienne have refused to seize - in the name of their liberty, and in fear of a "repressive" state, who isn't interested in what happens beyond Chambéry.  They are quick to forget that this same state, during the 1960s, put in place the famous "Plan Neige" which took the miserable state of the Alpine valleys as its starting point, and which dared, driven on by visionary local leaders, to allocate some of the unspoilt areas to the pursuit of winter sports.  This has allowed people from across the world to come and enjoy themselves on the slopes of Val-d;ISere, Tignes, Les Arcs, La Plagne or Courchevel.  

The ski industry flourished - it created value, employment, innovation, and enabled a whole region to develop a global reputation.  This is the reality, and it cannot be denied.  But, in 2015, this sterile debate between economic growth and environmental protection appears just as much old-fashioned as it is incomprehensible.  Surely it can be possible to work on a harmonious approach, not just one which is "sustainable" (this word has rather lost its meaning recently), but which can finally give proper respect to the fragile equilibrium of our mountain areas. 

It is high time to shake off these worrying prejudices, wherever they may come from - the developers with their cement mixers, the farmers intent on waging was against wolves and other "predators", the middle-claass intellectuals who are so well qualified to talk about the environment it actually disqualifies them...

All of the above groups should be seen as "people of the mountains".  It is only by working together that we can find a sensible way forward.  As the writer Jean Giono put it so well: "through such agreements we can develop a shared love of the mountains".

Lac de la Plagne, Summer 2014.
A 3 hour hike from the head of the Nancroix Valley, on the
Vanoise section of the GR5 long-distance path

SNOWMAGEDDON: The Aftermath

Last weekend's travel chaos in the Alps made front page news on both sides of the Channel.  At the heart of it was some very bad luck: the first major snowfall of winter arriving on one of the year's busiest changeover Saturdays.

All of this was then compounded by a very unusual meteorological phenomenon: icy rain. This prompted various accidents on the (relatively low altitude) dual carriageway between Albertville and Moutiers.

Sad times on the road to Moutiers, Sunday 28th December

This article (in French) from Le Parisien gives a blow-by-blow account of what happened. Just 7,000 out of 36,000 vehicles on their way to the Tarentaise made it to their chosen resort.  Some 8,000 spent the night in one of the emergency shelters.  Others (including me) had to make do with a night in the car at a service station...

For an account of the immediate aftermath, see this account from David Chazan in the Telegraph.  Peter Hardy (also in the Telegraph) picks up on the story and looks at what the British ski operators were doing this weekend to ensure that the post-New Year exodus from the mountain went smoothly.

The result: France 0, Switzerland 1.  By and large, the Swiss avoided the shambles on the French side of the border.

A detailed post-mortem has duly ensued.  A number of themes emerge:

1.  Un-joined-up government.  It was utterly unclear who was in charge.  The Mayor of Moutiers ranted in the Dauphiné a day or two later about communications breakdowns, demanding answers.  Val Thorens was ready to receive coaches, he gave the go-ahead for them to make the climb, but other authorities said non, so the coaches stayed put.  He had space for 400 people, and ended up with 3,000.  Etc.

2.  Lack of real-time information.  The authorities seemed reluctant to use social media, for example, with very little advice coming through on the night of 27th/28th Dec.

3.  Well-meaning communications can be counter-productive: "Snow Chains Obligatory at Moutiers" signs on the motorways compounded the problems.  Paradoxically, the bouchons were exacerbated by people putting chains on too soon, thereby blocking carriageways on the N90, slowing traffic and probably shredding many tyres.

4.  The emergency plan generally seemed to work well in terms of liberating places for stranded people to sleep.  Rather oddly, the service stations on the motorways do not seem to form part of these plans.  At the Aire de Chignin, where we spent the night, the Arche Restaurant closed its doors at about 11, not to reopen until 7am.

5.  It's rather a good idea to have snow chains and/or snow tyres.  The whole episode has reignited a dreary debate about hapless holiday makers arriving in the mountains ill-equipped and without a clue.  Haute-Alpes politician Joel Giraud questions why on earth France does not make having specialist equipment compulsory, just as it is in neighbouring Alpine countries, and comes up with the following quote:

France must return to the norms of civilised countries 

where each person is responsible for their actions - including when it snows in winter

For British skiers, the main take-away is to be careful if you hire a car from French airports, including the French side at Geneva airport - in contrast to the scenario in Switzerland, your car is unlikely to have snow tyres as standard.

Next date for the diary is 21 Feb, when motorists from all 3 French holiday zones are likely to be on the move...

SKI INSTRUCTOR MATTERS: An update

The Ski Club of Great Britain's summer magazine Elevation provides an update on "the Megeve Simon Butler case."

It notes that:

• This is more complicated thatn "French v Brits".  For example:
• Butler is represented by Jean-Yves Lapeyrere, "who represetns several French outdoor sports enthusiasts and would like to see the rules on qualifiacations relaxed, not just for ski instructors, but for several summer sports such as windsurfing".
• Some British ski instructors who have achieved the highest level BASI qualification - Alpine Ski Level 4 ISTD - are worried about the implications for their pay and status if the rules are relaxed
• Many French instructors have not had to take the "Eurotest", as they qualified before 2004, or are still operating as trainees.  (The Eurotest involves skiing a slalom course within 18% of that of a professional racer for men and within 24% for women)
• A decision is expected on June 16

ELECTION SPECIAL: Européennes 2014

In France, the resurgence of the Front Nationale, which came top in the popular vote, is the story of this year's European Elections.  

The election is also notable for the success of Ipsos in predicting the outcome :-)

In the Alps, the most notable election stat is the result in Haute-Savoie, where 215,322 people voted (a 42% turnout).  This saw a near dead heat, with just 33 votes separating the UMP (48,883 votes) and FN (48,850).

Here's a round-up of what happened in Savoie, and in the Tarentaise in particular.  Savoie tends to vote for the right (see round-up from the 2012 Presidential Election here.  But there are still quite sigificant differences from town to town, as the following trip up the valley shows.

For example, the FN scores just 13% in Peisey-Nancroix, yet registers twice this level barely 20km away in Séez.  The Greens triumph in Landry (one of the few areas to have voted Hollande in round 2 of the 2012 Presidential Election).  In UMP stronghold Val d'Isere, les Verts come in a poor third:

SAVOIE: Top 3 (% of vote)

FN: 24.5

UMP: 23.2

Union de la Gauche: 12.0

Turnout 44%

Chambéry

FN: 25.7

FN: 16.2

Green: 13.8

Turnout 44%

Albertville

FN 27.0

UMP: 24.4

Union de la Gauche: 11.8

Turnout 38%

Moutiers

UMP 27.2

FN: 25.7

Union de la Gauche: 9.6

Turnout 42%

Aime (for La Plagne)

UMP: 24.4

FN: 22.5

Green: 11.3

Turnout 40%

Landry (below Peisey)

Green: 23.1

FN:17.7

UMP: 15.6

Turnout 43%

Peisey-Nancroix

UMP: 35.7

Union de la Gauche: 13.4

Modem (Bayrou et al): 13.4

(FN: 13.0)

Turnout 41%

Bourg St Maurice

UMP 27.6

FN: 22.4

Green: 13.2

Turnout 35%

Séez (La Rosiere)

FN: 27.7

UMP: 18.5

Green: 12.9

Turnout 41%

Montvalezan (La Rosiere)

UMP 38.3

FN: 28.0

Union de la Gauche: 9.7

Turnout 38%

Tignes

FN: 27.0

UMP: 25.7

Green: 16.1

Turnout 21% (absent proprietors??)

Val d'Isere

UMP: 49.0

FN: 19.7

Green: 7.3

Turnout 26%

Click here for the full results.

Away from it all:
The path from Les Arcs (Col de la Chal)
towards Peisey-Nancroix

ELECTION SPECIAL: Municipales 2014

It's round one of the local elections today.  Here is an open letter written by the proprietors' organisation Avenir et Animation des Arcs setting out their questions to the candidates, together with their responses.  It also includes a TV debate specifically covering Bourg St Maurice-Les Arcs - local democracy in action!

The list of questions/concerns from Avenir et Animation covers the responsibilities of town hall, the lift company, police and neighbouring local authorities.  It includes:

• How the gulf between valley and town hall down below can be addressed
• General worries about whether enough is being done to keep Les Arcs in the Premier League
• Ensuring that the golf course at Arc 1800's future can be assured
• How the two key cultural events - the summer music festival and the international film festival can be safeguarded/developed
• Ensuring the dastardly scheme to build a new 4,000 bed development at La Maitaz (part of Vallandry's terrain but very close to Charmettoger) remains off the agenda
• Putting pressure on the lift company to moderate price rises (this seasons were 5X inflation, apparently)
• Safeguarding the return piste from Arc 1800 to Arc 1600 following the removal of the Chantel lift
• Getting more clarity on the plans for the new lift to run between Arc 1800 and Chantel/Edenarc
• Improving access to the resort, both at the funiculaire and on arrival (signposting etc)
• Better maintenance of paths, snow clearing, dealing with noise nuisances
• Giving proprietors more concessions/price reductions, given they are often there for several weeks and are therefore practically residents

Round 2 is next Sunday, 30 March.

WHAT'S NEW IN LES ARCS: Parking matters

UPDATE: 12 Jan: You can buy your €50 "weekly ticket" from the new "parking chalet" at the foot of the steps below the funiculaire.   If you arrive outside working hours, you can go and see the chap on the desk before you leave.  However, factoring in the 12€ for the return ride on the funi, we now have the sad situation where parties of two or more can save money by making the 15km climb up to Arc 1800 and paying the 65€ charge there...

Les Arcs is no stranger to parking controversies.  The introduction of parking charges in 2009 did not go down well with the local saisonniers and proprieteres.  The Council was very clear at the time that it needed to introduce charges to help cover its deficit, and saw no strong argument as to why parking in the ski resort should be subsidised by local taxpayers.  Not all were convinced, but the issue seems to have died down now.

For many years, a very sensible alternative for the holidaymaker has been to use the funiculaire from Bourg St Maurice, leaving the car in the adjacent (free) car park.  The parking is of course heavily used by locals as part of their daily commute.

This state of affairs has now been thrown up in the air, in the wake of the municipal council's decision this October to introduce new parking charges in Bourg St Maurice.  

For the tourist, a daily charge of €3 sounds reasonable, but there is a cunning surcharge for an overnight stay which means I clocked up a €65 bill for a four day stay.  When I questioned the amount, I was advised that "You do not have the right to park overnight". It does seem, however, that parking overnight is not entirely frowned upon: a €50 weekly ticket (for 5-7) days is now available.  Full details of the costs are on the Les Arcs website.  

For those working in Les Arcs, there is the option to buy a €180 ticket covering the season.

This has been condemned as a "tax on work" and the CGT and FO unions representing the resort workers have have launched a campaign.  This included a march on the town hall the week before Christmas.  The issue appears to be far from over...

Bourg St Maurice, 21 December 2013

For the moment, Les Arcs' claims to be "eco-friendly" or "car-free" appear a little hollow. By my maths, the new cost of a week's parking down in Bourg (50€ plus return ticket to Les Arcs) makes driving up to the resort and paying the 65€ charge the cheaper option. Which seems odd.

THERE IS POWER IN A UNION: L'Union des Propriéteres pour la Défense des Arcs

An isolated town, which has just lost its army base.  A large ski resort with a surplus of studio apartments, mostly owned by private individuals who leave them empty for much of the year ("lits froids").  The desire of developers to build on virgin sites.  A flat market for winter holidays, and a summer season that barely keeps things ticking over.   Here's an overview of some of the local issues and controversies.

Before Edenarc: The Chantel site

One voice in the local scene is the Union des Propriétaires pour la Défense des Arcs (UPDA), set up in 1992 by 30 propriétaires from Villards (Arc 1800).  They had become fed up with how their copropriétés were being managed, and increasingly clear that they needed to develop a common voice against the lift company, local council etc.

Today the UPDA boasts 1800 members (out of a total of 3,800 propriétaires in Arc 1800 and Arc 2000).  They say they are making progress in transforming Les Arcs into a station where the apartment owners are taking an interest in the future of their resort, and point to a number of successes in their various battles.  Here are some of them:

1. The La Maitaz plateau - victory has just been announced in the fight to stop a new hotel being built at the edge of Charmetogger, on the green piste/summer road to Vallandry.  This is a special site, beautiful in summer and winter, and its preservation is great news.

2. Clashes with the local mairie.  The UPDA is clear that all the electors are in the valley, while much of the money is collected at altitude, not least from the taxes paid by the propriétaires.  "Pay up and shut up" is the local maxim, it seems.  Some of this unhappiness was evident in the debates over the setting up of the new car parking charges for Arc 1800.  They continue to campaign for more transparence, and more of a neutral stance from the municipality.

3.  Dismantling the monopoly of the SMA (the former lift company, which controlled just about everything in the resort, including renting apartments, ski shops etc).  It claims some success here, pointing to an increase in property values (the arrival of Paradiski and investment by the Compagnie des Alpes, Intrawest etc may also have contributed here....).  There has been a long-standing dispute about who pays for the Golf course (now resolved), and there remains a lot of unhappiness about parking in Villards which I haven't quite fathomed out.

The shopping area at Charvet, Arc 1800

4. Moving the resort upmarket - the UPDA is campaigning for moving the marketing/positioning of the resort upmarket, and becoming more familial.  It points to its various plus points: the "avant-gardiste" architecture, the beauty of the site, the pedestrian villages.  And it is aghast at the "barbaric hordes" who show up on coaches with their "packs of discount beers", not to mention some "poorly chosen" seasonal workers - the result of the misguided mass-market strategies of the SMA and its successors Pierre & Vacances, Maeva etc.  (I'm sure the forthcoming visitors from Staffordshire, Surrey and Coventry universities do not fall under this category....)

5. Improving security - they have been unhappy with the lack of attention played by the local police notably the gendarmerie of Bourg St Maurice.

*****

The founder of the Union, Gilbert Driancourt, died in 2009.  But the UPDA continues, for example in its work to ensure that the annual meeting of the copropriétes are quorate, and the views of the propriétaires are heard.

EN COLERE: Industrial Relations in the Mountains

All may be well for those holidaying on the pistes, but the realities of working in the resorts - low pay, seasonal work, a flat market - have led to a fair amount of industrial conflict in recent years.

France is of course no stranger to industrial relations.  This BBC report reminds us that, although the French workforce is not particularly unionised, they are the European Champions in terms of days lost to strikes per 1,000 employees: Germany 4, UK 19, France 100.  (Canada are the World Champtions, apparently).

This is a far from exhaustive list, but here are some recent examples of industrial relations problems in the mountains:

First, a video showing Courchevel's brief day as the only resort in France with no lifts, back in 2008.

In 2011, there was a brief strike in Les Arcs and La Plagne over working conditions and pay, which was part of a national dispute involving the CGT.  It involved 60 grevistes at the Funiculaire, 100 at La Plagne, and 40 at the Vanoise Express.  But the union actions weren't coordinated (the FO union did its own deal with the employers) and the lifts kept on turning.  More here.

Earlier this year, there was a brief strike over pay in Valmorel which saw 110/180 of the resort workers on strike, and 75% of the pistes closed.  More here (including video).  And more on the skiing in Valmorel here.

Valmorel, looking towards Mont Blanc

Back in Les Arcs, there is an ongoing dispute between the ESF and some of its older instructors.  The ESF employs 17,000 moniteurs in 250 resorts across France.  In 2007 it adopted a policy of getting instructors aged over 60 to cut back their hours outside school holidays - the intention being to provide more opportunities for younger workers.  This was adopted at Arc 1800 in 2009, and prompted five instructors aged 57-62 to take the ESF to court.  The latest ruling by the court in Albertville was in their favour, declaring it to be a clear case of age discrimination.

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: How they voted in Round One

The first round of the election results are in.  Savoie is hardly a bellweather state - it is traditionally more to the right, and that's what happened last Sunday.

France-wide, the figures were (Savoie in brackets):
Hollande 29% (24), Sarkozy 27% (29), Le Pen 18% (19), Mélenchon 11% (11)
Full results here.

Haute-Savoie is more of a stronghold of the right.  Here, Sarkozy scored 34%, with Hollande trailing on 20%.

Sarko with ESF moniteurs at La Clusaz (Haute Savoie).
He says he's not "as good a skier" as Carla.
And anyway, he hasn't skied since being at the Elysée...
people would think him crazy if he broke something..

The main pattern to emerge is that, the further you up the Tarentaise valley, the higher the vote for the current President.  That is to say there is a correlation (I don't think it's causation....) between altitude and the share of Sarko's vote:

                              Chambéry     Albertville      Moutiers     Bourg SM     Val d'Isere
                                  (245m)           (328m)           (481m)         (810m)           (1850)
Sarkozy                         25                  27                   32                 34                 58
Hollande                         30                  26                   23                 18                12
Le Pen                           14                  20                   19                 16                 11
Melenchon                      14                 13                    12                 11                 7

This is not a new phenomenon, I hasten to add.  Here's how Savoie voted in round 2 of the 2007 presidentielle, for example.

PS Both Hollande and Sarkozy are very keen to remind folk that they are great sports fans.  Sarko loves cycling, and his dream is to win an Alpe d'Huez stage.  Hollande loves his football, and is a big Rouen supporter.  More here.

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: How They Voted In 2007

Not long now until the first round of the French Presidential Election.  Here's how France voted in round two back in 2007:

Sarko v Sego

Savoie is traditionally more to the right and voted in favour of Sarkozy by 57:43

Indeed, the only town I can find which voted for Royal is the capital itself, Chambéry, which went against Sarko by a 49:51 margin.  The full results, broken down by departement and commune, can be found here.

With one or two exceptions, the communes serving ski resorts backed Sarkozy by a greater margin than the Savoie average.  Here is a selection, ranked by % voting for Sarko:

Landry  51
Moutiers  55
Albertville  55

Bozel (Courchevel)  56

Aigueblanche (Valmorel)  57
Beaufort  60
Aime (La Plagne)  61
Bourg St Maurice-Les Arcs  60
Seez (La Rosiere)  61
Champagny  62
Peisey-Nancroix  65
Tignes  66
Macot-la-Plagne  68
Villaroger  70
St Martin-de-Belleville  73
Brides-les-Bains (Meribel)  74
Crest Voland  79
Val d'Isere  80

THE BIG SOCIETY AUX ARCS: Heated Debates

We have endless books and articles in English about how much greener things are on the other side of the Channel.  "The quality of life is so much better, the pace of life is slower, people are happier.  Not like over here...."  The reality is of course rather more mundane.

Bourg St Maurice is an isolated and not particularly wealthy town.  Tourism is of course the key sector, offering loads of seasonal work.  But the ski market has peaked, at least for now.  And it faces the forthcoming closure of the Chasseurs Alpins military base. More here.

With all this comes the issues, controversies and political disputes - large and small - that we will all be used to.  Here are five of them.

1.  Parking

A big issue where I live in Barnet - and a big issue in Bourg St Maurice-Les Arcs too.  A couple of years ago the local council declared that it could no longer afford the several hundred thousand euros a year cost of clearing up the snow.  Outrage ensued as plans for a new peage-style barrier at Arc 1800 took shape.  There were brief celebrations as the technology failed shortly after opening, but now the system is well and truly working. And both locals and proprieteres are not happy.  More on the practicalities of parking here.

2.  Les Proprieteres en colere


As Billy Bragg says, "There is Power in a Union".  You can join the Union des Proprieteres pour la Defense des Arcs (UPDA) here.  They, alongside the ADS (lift company) and the mairie, form a triange of interests who do not always get on.  Recent debates have included a long-running dispute called the "Affaire du Golf" which resulted in money being returned to the proprieteres, parking at Villards (which has witnessed something of a saga around both the old and new car parks) and the more recent "save the Maitaz" campaign (see below).

If you do park at the open-air site at Charvet, you may find yourself walking along a desolate pedestrian tunnel, then taking a lift up to the centre station.  There has been a huge argument here re who is responsible for its upkeep, this time between the local authority and the residents of the Pierra Menta block through which the lift runs.  As far as I can see, the proprieteres emerged as winners.

3.  Chantel

This is only a minor dispute these days in that the Edenarc plans have been in place for many years, and development has only really been delayed by slow sales.  Some locals and fans of the original Les Arcs architecture are unhappy - Claudie Blanc, for example.

That said, there were always plans to build on the Chantel site, even though it means the destruction of some very beautiful tennis courts.  Charlotte Perriand's original design for the site is here.

4.  New developments

You can read more about current and future developments, including the new lift at 1600 here.

Today's heated debate is all about the future of the Maitaz site, which is on the green piste to Villandry.  The discussions surround whether it is such a good idea to bulldoze such a beautiful site at a time when so much of the resort is empty for so much of the year.  This time the villain in many people's eyes is the Landy mairie.  You can read more at the Sauver La Maitaz Facebook page, and see the impact on the Route des Espagnols (aka the piste) here.  It looks like a debate which will run and run.

5.  Politics

Bourg St Maurice and the surrounding valley is traditionally a right-wing stronghold - Sarkozy recorded 60% in the last presidentielle.

2011 saw a political crisis which resulted in a third of the local councillors resigning as the Damien Perry-Daniel Payot administration collapsed in a Savoyard version of the TB-GBs.  This saw an un-triumphant return of former mayor and Jacqueline Poletti in a landslide victory, registering 61% of the vote.