Industry News
In a historic referendum driven by climate change, residents of the French Alpine village of Allos have voted to end skiing and boarding at their local ski resort, Val d’Allos–Le Seignus, citing mounting financial losses and an increasingly unreliable snowpack. The referendum, held both online and in person throughout June and concluding Saturday, marks another major retreat from downhill skiing in France’s lower-altitude mountains. However, not everyone sees the result as a reflection of the will of the majority.
While 50.1% of the 1,342 votes cast supported shutting down all alpine ski operations, 36.4% voted to keep the resort fully open despite steep tax hikes, and 12.6% supported a scaled-back version. Voter turnout, however, sat at just 30% of eligible residents and second-home owners, highlighting divisions within the community. The votes cast in June show a 50-50 split between those wanting to shutter operations and those who want to continue in some shape or form.
- Related: 85-Year-Old French Ski Resort Alpe du Grand Serre Forced to Close Permanently Due to Climate Change
Mayor Michel Lantelme defended the consultation, citing an annual deficit of €700,000 ($750,000). “We can no longer afford to waste time,” he told French newspaper Le Monde. “The structural deficit is proven,” he said, adding that continuing to subsidize skiing would have required raising local taxes by up to 35%. The referendum however, is not binding and needs to be ratified by the municipal council.
Activists and businesses that depend on the ski resort for their livelihood have vowed to not go down without a battle. The École du Ski Français (ESF) in Allos, which has operated for decades at Le Seignus, issued a statement on Facebook, announcing that the ski school will be operating at Le Seignus for the 2025-26 season.
Val d’Allos–Le Seignus, located at 1,500 meters (4,920 feet), was once a winter tourism hub. Its first ski lift was built in the 1930s, part of a postwar boom that turned scores of French Alpine towns into ski destinations. But decades of warming have altered that landscape. The resort has struggled for years with poor snow reliability, often relying heavily on artificial snowmaking to maintain operations—an increasingly costly and water-intensive strategy.
The closure vote reflects a broader crisis in the French Alps, particularly at lower elevations. Since the 1970s, more than 180 ski resorts in France—mostly below 1,600 meters (5,250 feet)—have closed. Rising temperatures mean more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, and what does fall often melts quickly. According to Météo-France, low-altitude resorts like Le Seignus face a future with just a fraction of the skiable days they once had. “In a France that is 4°C warmer by the end of the century, areas at 1,800 meters (5,905 feet) will have only 52 days with snow cover suitable for skiing,” said Nicolas Roux, head of the Météo-France center for the Southern Alps. That’s down from 132 days between 1976 and 2005. Even higher-elevation resorts, he warned, will see shorter windows for snowmaking.
Notably, the higher-altitude La Foux d’Allos ski area—which lies within the same municipality but is linked to the neighboring resort of Pra Loup—will continue operating. At over 1,800 meters (5,905 feet), it still enjoys more reliable snow conditions and is not affected by the recent vote. The lower-lying resorts of Grand Puy and Alpe du Grand Serre have ceased ski operations in recent years, unable to withstand the double pressures of warming and debt.
As the municipal council prepares to meet, Allos stands at a crossroads—one shared by many Alpine communities. The battle now is not only over skiing, but over how mountain towns will adapt and survive in an era of disappearing snow.
