They decided the end of skiing, following the example of the Grand Puy station a few months ago. At a majority of votes (50.1 %), the inhabitants of Allos in the southern Alps voted on Saturday for the stop of the alpine skiing in their station of Val d’Allos-Le Seignus located at 1,500 meters above sea level. Two other choices were available to the inhabitants: maintaining alpine skiing in the Val d’Allos-Le Seignus and see their local taxes increase by 30 to 35 % or keep skiing only on part of the Seignus and accept a tax increase from 10 to 15 %.
But they finally preferred to stop skiing completely because of the lack of snow and the chronic deficit which follows it in this small station which had inaugurated its first ski lift in the 1930s. The decision that the town hall will make “is not stopped today. The voters have spoken out on an option that gives us a roadmap, “tempers the mayor of Allos, Michel Lantelme, adding that a meeting of the municipal council must take place this Monday evening to analyze these results. The Foux d’Allos station, also located in the town but higher at altitude, is not concerned not a possible closure.
A deficit of 700,000 euros for the year
While tourists flocked from all southern France in the last century in the VAM station of Allos-Le Seignus, this era is over. “We can no longer afford to waste time,” said the mayor, adding that “the structural deficit is proven and today, it is up to 700,000 euros” for the year, including summer 2024 and winter 2024-2025.
Our file on climate change
The differences in snow height vary a lot “between high altitude, which sees the snow height drop only very weakly, and the low altitude,” explains Nicolas Roux, head of the weather center for southern Alps. With the rise in temperatures, the rain replaces snow, and the snowfall melts faster, explains the scientist.
In a “France at + 4 ° C” at the end of the century, the sectors of the Southern Alps located at 1,800 meters above sea level will only have 52 days with a snow-capping skiing, against 132 days over the period 1976-2005. And even at high altitude, “by advancing in time, we will end up with weaker snowfall”, warns Nicolas Roux, (121 days against 170).
Diversify the tourist offer in summer
For Thomas, a 31 -year -old seasonal, who wants to remain anonymous, local officials have in fact let the Seignus die “because they” wanted to favor the Foux d’Allos “. For him, the hamlet of Seignus is “a dead city”: “Everything is for sale, abandoned, of absolute sadness. »»
As in other low -altitude stations, all tracks are explored to diversify the tourist offer with mountain biking in summer, hiking or snowshoes. “You have to anticipate a transition over the next ten years. This is on this we can agree, ”suggests Sylvain Barbotin, elected to the municipal council, who regrets the organization of this consultation. “Even if she has the merit of being transparent, it amounts to saying” we are going straight in the wall, we do not get out financially, so we stop the Seignus, “he warns.
