The decision to transport natural snow by helicopter on the slopes of the Luchon - Superbagnères (Haute-Garonne) resort in the Pyrenees was controversial this weekend. Georges Méric, the socialist president of the departmental council, manager of the domain since 2018, met this Thursday Elisabeth Borne, the Minister of the Ecological Transition, who had criticized this operation on Twitter in particular.
Why did you decide to transport 50 tonnes of snow by helicopter to Luchon?
GEORGES MÉRIC. After closing the Mourtis and Bourg-d'Oueil stations, we decided to keep the Luchon station, located at a higher altitude, open to children. It was decided to take snow upstairs, an operation impossible by truck, to bring it back to the children's ski lift. I accept this decision, taken rationally. Did 100-150 people have to lose their jobs directly? The images caused a scandal and the minister was taken aback. She thinks that we do not have the will to transform the high mountain resorts into a four season resort. I explained to him the project developed with local elected representatives, in concertation, with the economic community for two years, and I asked him what state aid is there to facilitate our investments. But, in the end, I regret that nothing concrete was presented by the Minister regarding the support of stations which are facing climate change, while the local authorities and local actors are fully committed to these issues.
What are you doing for ecology?
We are ahead of what the Minister is asking us, since we started thinking in 2016 for the transformation and transformation of these Four Seasons mountain resorts for the three resorts in the Haute-Garonne that we manage with the Haute- Syndicat Garonne Montagne since 2018. We are not in the past, we are in the future and we have projects with 25 million euros of investment to safeguard the mountain economy. I am a local elected official responsible and I am not above ground, but in the reality on the ground. My decisions are based on two emergencies: the social emergency, including seasonal employment, and an environmental emergency that must be managed. I have the urgency of the end of the month and the urgency of the end of the world. We must find ways to combine them. In four years, we have invested 150 million euros for the ecological transition. Three snowshoe / hiking trails, biathlon and toboggan runs are already free in Luchon, the DévalKart activity, non-motorized karts, is in place at Mourtis, as well as archery, trampoline…
What other green investments are planned?
For example, it is necessary to change the gondola to go up to Superbagnères, so that it is more efficient and secure. It is 15 million euros to get people on this gondola which will operate all year round. Starting next summer, there will be investments to diversify areas of interest. I'm not for all skiing. A zipline must notably be built as well as a sledge on rail or even mountain bike trails. My problem is to provide employment in the mountains, so that people can live.
