A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #339 - While the glaciers melt - Against the 2030 Winter Olympics in AURA / PACA (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The Paris Olympics have not yet taken place, and a second French 
candidacy has already been submitted. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and 
Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur regions have applied to host the Winter Games 
in 2030. While the glaciers are melting, we are preparing to host the 
snow and concrete games and inequalities. ---- It is Jean-Marie-Bernard, 
president of the Hautes-Alpes department who announces the news in 
Hautes-Alpes mag: "the International Olympic Committee has decided to 
only continue the dialogue with the French candidacy in sight of the 
organization of the 2030 Winter Olympic Games. He welcomes "a historic 
moment for the Hautes-Alpes and the opportunity, even the prospect, of 
organizing these Games for the first time in history in our resorts.»[1]

This candidacy, which has every chance of being accepted since it is the 
only one to negotiate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is 
the result of collaboration between Renaud Muselier, president of the 
PACA region, and Laurent Wauquiez, his Rhône counterpart. alpine. They 
had both started separate candidacies, which were brought together under 
the patronage of Emmanuel Macron. If the IOC's decision, expected in 
July during the Paris Olympics, is positive, it is the French Alps 
(Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes) which will host 
the Winter Olympics in 2030.

The departments concerned are territories where winter sports are 
already the main activity, which was considered an asset for the 
candidacy. Thus, in the Hautes-Alpes, there are 27 stations, mainly 
small and medium-sized, hiring 12,000 people, or nearly 30% of jobs in 
the department[2]. Some even speak of a "ski monoculture". And the Alps 
benefit from the presence of several "Olympic cities" in hosting the 
Winter Olympics: Chamonix, Grenoble and Albertville, which hosted the 
Olympics in 1924, 1968 and 1992 respectively[3]. As Renaud Muselier 
insists, the French Alps candidacy is a "snow and chalets" candidacy.

However, beyond the story given by the authorities with enchanting words 
like "synergy", "sobriety" or "snow and chalets", the choice of the 
French candidacy by the IOC also comes more simply... from a deficit of 
candidates! Japan, initially a candidate, finally threw in the towel due 
to corruption scandals targeting the Olympic committee for the 2021 
Olympics in Tokyo. As for Switzerland, its candidacy undoubtedly 
suffered from the risk of a vote - with a potentially unfavorable result 
- which would lead to the cancellation of the Olympics. In France, no 
referendum in sight, that's safer. We will be content with an opinion 
poll with leading questions commissioned by the PACA region: "Would you 
be in favor or not in favor of the organization of the 2030 Olympic and 
Paralympic Winter Games respectful of the environment of our French Alps 
, and compatible with climate imperatives? ". Positive response rate: 
73%. The IOC, for its part, took the lead in the face of the shortage of 
reliable candidates and preferred to plan the next Games, favoring 
candidacies where the population does not have a say. This is how we 
already know that the 2034 Games will take place in Salt Lake City.

To ward off any criticism in advance, the Alpine candidacy claims to 
place itself under the sign of "responsibility towards the environment", 
relying on the figure of 95% of existing infrastructure, notably from 
the Albertville Olympics. According to the authorities, "the responsible 
and sober nature of the file" was one of the assets of the candidacy, 
and "sobriety stood out as one of the key words". The same people have, 
however, already announced "a tremendous boost", therefore a series of 
major road projects on the Marseille-Sisteron and Grenoble-Gap axes[4]- 
including the emblematic transformation into 2x2 lanes of the La 
Saulce-Briançon national road. on sections where this is possible. 
Olympic Games 2030: Snow Games or Concrete Games?

More broadly, we can question the viability of events of this type in 
the mountains. Let's open the Hautes-Alpes mag again. In the same issue, 
two pages are devoted to impressive photos of the floods which affected 
the department in the fall of 2023. "Floods, torrents of mud and 
landslides (...) have made many roads impassable and damaged houses, 
isolating more than 600 homes"[5]. 4,000 homes were deprived of electricity.
Particularly affected, the Risoul station was cut off from the valley 
for two weeks, slightly delaying the opening of the season, and the 
Region requested help from the emergency fund for adaptation to climate 
change[6].

In the coming years, these bad weather risks calling into question 
Alpine life well beyond a few spectacular photos. We know that the 
tourism economy relies on the presence of snow. However, the snow in the 
Alps is threatened by the consequences of climate change. Currently, 
artificial snow is already used on 35% of French slopes. The 
environmental cost of this "artificial snow" is significant, with 25 
million cubic meters of water withdrawn annually, 1 to 3 kWh of 
electricity per cubic meter of snow, not to mention the infrastructure 
(cannons, water reservoirs). ...)[7]. But José, a member of the No JO 
collective which opposes the holding of the Olympic Games, highlights 
the appearance of a new problem: winter rains. "When it was warmer, the 
cannons solved the problem. But nothing has yet been thought of to 
prevent the rain from melting the snow. And that's what's been happening 
since this year, like at Risoul! Warm air masses rise from the 
Mediterranean and cause rain here. Until now, we sometimes had this in 
May, at the end of the season. It was a phenomenon that we knew about. 
But not in winter, and not at altitudes like that! This year, there was 
talk of rain up to 3000 meters above sea level. Last November, a meter 
of snow fell in three days. ".

We went to meet Stéphane, former member of the French cross-country ski 
team, who competed in world championships. He too is devastated by the 
situation. "I was born in 1968, the year of the Grenoble Olympic Games, 
and my grandmother had drawn the Olympic rings on my diapers. Skiing is 
my life. But here we can clearly see that there is a problem. We are in 
peak season, in February, and there is no more snow.» He is also a 
member of the No JO collective. "When I say that, people say, "You're 
against skiing." But no! It's my passion and my livelihood! It's 
unfortunate, but these are facts. But since we all earn our living here 
from snow, it's not easy to hear.»

Scientists are going in the same direction. According to Météo France, 
"mountains are warming twice as fast as other ecosystems: in the French 
Alps and Pyrenees, the temperature increased by more than two degrees 
during the 20th century, compared to 1.4 degrees in the rest of the 
region. France  ". Consequence: Mont-Blanc has lost more than two meters 
since 2021 and warming will impact between a third of Alpine resorts (at 
+2°) and almost all (at +4°)[8]. With consequences on the snow cover of 
the resorts: if the melting of the ice continues at the same rate as 
over the last twenty years, the European Alps will lose 46% of their ice 
volume by 2050. With bad weather, s 'therefore adds that of glaciers.

It is in this context of climate emergency that the members of the No JO 
collective denounce the political choice represented by the organization 
of the Winter Olympic Games, in the Alps as elsewhere. A decision 
symbolizing denial in the face of global warming, perpetuating an 
outdated model and sending a political signal to the ski industry: 
"After us, the flood!" ".

In 2020, images of snow being transported by helicopter to the 
Luchon-Superbagnères resort, in the Pyrenees, sparked many outraged 
reactions, including at the top of the State. But no lessons were 
learned: in December 2022 for example, the hosting of the Biathlon World 
Cup at the Grand Bornand station (Haute-Savoie) which involved the 
transport by trucks of several thousand cubic meters of snow. The sector 
considers itself protected, estimating that there will be snow remaining 
until at least 2050 (!), and that the solution would lie in the 
development of "4 seasons" activities, the opening of resorts in summer. 
, the setting up of hiking trails, the rental of electric mountain bikes 
or quads or indoor activities... Let's take this opportunity to point 
out the astonishing activities offered since this winter by the Pôle 
Sport Innovation in Les Orres in the Hautes-Alpes: downhill mountain 
biking, alpine skiing, canoeing, paragliding and speed-riding... all in 
virtual reality, via simulators. Practical for when there is no more snow!

"In reality, the system is running out of steam," says José. The ski 
industry was developed by the state, stuffed with subsidies, and today 
it is facing climate change. This entire industry is structured on the 
principle that profits are private and losses public. Elected officials 
are subservient to the all-ski lobby, and the Olympics are the assurance 
of having investments.» But we still need to invest in the right areas. 
"After the flooding of the Risoul station, washed away by floods this 
winter, there were 300,000 euros for the station, and zero for the 
farmers. Between eating and skiing, there is one activity that is 
superfluous and one that is vital. Here, we do quite the opposite. We 
have to come back to earth," recalls José. Stéphane responds: "It's like 
in the North of France, the mines have closed. Our money mines are the 
stations. Here, fifty years ago we were breaking the ground. With the 
stations, money started falling from the sky. But they are going to 
close. It's going to suck. We defend a completely different vision of 
the Alps.»

Created in March 2023 with the announcement of the PACA candidacy, 
therefore even before the joint PACA-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes candidacy, the 
No JO collective seeks to unite oppositions. "From the start, there were 
around twenty of us. We organized a ski race on the tarmac, it made 
people laugh," says Anna. "Today, it's difficult to say how many there 
are. We try to allow communication between the different components of 
the struggle. We have just published a forum with around twenty 
organizations, unions... And here we are preparing an international 
mobilization for the spring!»

The collective does not just denounce the denial of climate change. 
Indeed, it is not a simple scientific question of quantity of snow or 
percentage of glacier volume. It is above all a political question: not 
everyone will be equal in the face of the end of snow in the mountains, 
and the collective puts this aspect at the center of its criticism. From 
the start, he has opposed the Olympics everywhere ("neither here, nor 
elsewhere!"), in the name of the ultra-competitive social project that 
underlies them.

"The lack of snow will primarily affect small resorts, located at low 
altitude and on the outskirts of the Alps, in the Vercors or in 
Dévoluy," indicates Stéphane. "The big resorts are in the heart of the 
Alps, and they will be affected later. So, as skiers like to ski on icy 
snow, a lot of people will prefer to pay EUR50 for a pass rather than 
EUR35 for wet snow." And these large resorts which will attract 
customers, those of Méribel or La Plagne for example, often belong to 
private groups - La Compagnie des Alpes in this case.

Inequalities are also found in the question of access to housing. If 
Hautes-Alpes was already in 2020 the French department with the highest 
rate of second homes (45.6%, far ahead of Corsica, second at 38%[9]), 
"with covid and episodes of drought , many people from the cities are 
fleeing and coming here to find coolness," Anna tells us. "We still have 
water, since the glaciers are melting! Belgians and Dutch people buy in 
the department, and that's new.» With the explosion in the purchase of 
second homes and seasonal rentals, the sale prices of housing are 
increasing, to the detriment of premises and in particular permanent 
residents who are not owners. A quick look at Le Bon Coin shows us that 
only a third of the rentals offered are annual, the others being one-off 
or seasonal...

Finally, there is the question of the militarization of the border and 
the difficulties encountered by exiles who cross the Hautes-Alpes passes 
on foot to enter France. "Migration policy has already tightened since 
Macron. With the Olympics they will want to expel this population, 
militarize the border even more," continues Anna. "It is very worrying, 
first of all for the exiled people. For example, Montgenèvre is one of 
the two sites which will host the Olympic Games in the Hautes-Alpes, and 
it is also the main crossing point for migrants. With the Games, the 
authorities will no longer want to see even the slightest migrant 
passing through. ". In view of the policy of "social cleansing" 
denounced by sixty associations regarding the Paris Olympics, the 
collective emphasizes that we can legitimately have fears on this aspect.

For all these reasons, the members of the No JO collective are 
increasing their activity before the final choice of the IOC. Despite 
the support of the local media for the projects, the anti-Olympics can 
see that their efforts are receiving a wide response. Indeed, says José, 
"the population is quite distressed, the Olympics are unpopular. To 
summarize, people on the left are against it, and people on the right, 
those who like competition, see it as a waste of taxes.» In this 
context, Stéphane and Anna display their determination: "We are going to 
continue, we are going to denounce everything that is happening. Now, 
concrete projects are starting to come out: we are in the starting 
blocks, ready to pounce.»

Nicolas Bonanni

In 2018, the Olympics did not take place (in Grenoble)
When the capital of Dauphiné wanted to present its candidacy for the 
2018 Olympic Games (which ultimately took place in South Korea), a very 
dynamic Anti-Olympic Committee (CAO) fought valiantly under the banner: 
"Slower, less high, less strong. At the time, three French cities were 
in the running to receive the French nomination. We found Basile, a 
former member of the CAO.
"It was in 2008-2009. There were ten of us. We fought for several months 
against the Grenoble candidacy. We made posters, leaflets, postcards, we 
documented the consequences of the 1968 Olympics. And above all, as soon 
as they organized an event, we reacted, we organized something. In 
December 2008, for example, we organized an anti-Olympic parade where 
there were several hundred of us, and which prevented the Olympic parade 
from taking place in which they had recruited school children... We also 
went to Alpe-d' Boo on skis to counter a press conference, they didn't 
expect to find us there! We were running behind them quite a bit... We 
don't know if it was our action that turned things around, but it's 
certain that it had an impact: the IOC is very sensitive to popular 
support. When Annecy was chosen instead of Grenoble, an anti-Olympic 
Committee was created there too. In the end, Korea was chosen. One of 
the factors in the choice was that the Korean candidacy was supported by 
93%, and that of Annecy by only 50%..."

P.-S.
See also, on the Olympic Games, the following articles:
Should the 2030 Olympics take place?
The Olympic Games and tourism: expansion of the business domain!
JOP and struggles against land use planning article

Notes
[1]Hautes-Alpes mag n°73, January-March 2024.

[2]Provence, 10/11/2021

[3]even if, for political reasons, Grenoble is not one of the cities 
which will host the 2030 Olympics

[4]Renaud Muselier, RMC Sport, 11/30/2023.

[5]Hautes-Alpes mag n°73

[6]Le Parisien, 1/12/2023

[7]Ski areas of France, "What is artificial snow?», 2022

[8]Slate, 12/19/2023

[9]INSEE figures

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