Silence and mist descend on the Tinée. Major Steve Doussin finds the valley exactly as he knew it a year ago, during his appointment as commander of the community of gendarmerie brigades of Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée. He now knows that the calm reigning over the latter part of the season will only be short-lived, a period nestled between the tumults of summer and winter. He now knows all the facets of the valley, the portrait of which he provides as an initial assessment.
“I held the same position in Roquestéron, between 2015 and 2016. So I had experience in the mountains and forest fires. I was also used to working with [l’Office Français pour la Biodiversité]“begins the 52-year-old soldier. Before conceding that the Estéron sector “is much wilder. In Tinée, there are waves of affluence.”
Mythical passes and Tour de France
As during the Tour de France, on July 19 and 20, with up to 30,000 spectators per day. “Under the supervision of the Puget-Théniers gendarmerie company, it took us several months of preparation with the prefecture, town halls, firefighters (…) We worked a lot on our traffic plan (…) A Once the Tour was over, there was a relief.”
But soon, summer imposed its rhythm. And an observation emerged: the roads of Tinée are far from being depopulated, “unlike most rural areas (…) There, we find a situation similar to that of Alpine areas where legendary passes will attract many bikers and cyclists”observes the gendarme.
In his sights: the Bonette and Lombarde passes, in particular. The first, supposedly classified as the highest in Europe thanks to a loop, peaks at 2,802 meters above sea level. And attracts up to 100,000 vehicles per year with peaks in summer. The second, linking Italy and France, also holds its record, with nearby the sanctuary of Sant'Anna di Vinadio, the highest in Europe (2,035 meters).
“With the media exposure of the Tour de France, it brought us a lot of people”continues the soldier. “For some [usagers de la route]there is a lack of knowledge of mountain roads, we had to mobilize for prevention.”
Problems from the coast to the mountains
Prevention also accompanied by screening. “Like the rest of the year”points out the soldier who deplores an increase in the number of offenses recorded for addictive and dangerous behavior. If no accident figures are communicated, the gendarme agrees to give a general trend and ensures that “the number of accidents is stable (…) There is less driving under the influence of alcohol”. He also notes that cannabis consumption remains stable. Unlike cocaine which is “clearly increasing”no longer limited to “well-off classes”.
Drug use is also recurrent “when the problems of the coast come to the mountains”. In winter, the resorts' nightclubs face the same difficulties as their coastal neighbors. The major describes “a fairly young audience with, among others, individuals who come to let off steam, drink too much, take drugs, fight.”
Up to 100,000 skiers at Christmas
“It goes hand in hand with a very significant influx of population”he continues, referring to the numerous skiers flocking to Isola 2000 and Auron, mainly. These resorts alone had reached a record of 100,000 skiers combined during the 2022 Christmas holidays. “This year, it was more like 60,000 more people in the valley (…) It’s a big challenge. We coordinate a lot with the firefighters and the PGHM [Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne, basé à Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée] for injured skiers but also for searches for people.”
Within the community of gendarmerie brigades alone, twelve personnel are deployed on Isola 2000 and six on Auron, reinforcing the eleven soldiers stationed year-round in the valley.
When we cover 16.5% of the Alpes-Maritimes, that’s not too much. “Yes, we’re not bored”confirms the commander good-naturedly. Which means that he does not regret leaving Mayotte, where he was previously stationed? “My father was also a gendarme, I grew up from barracks to barracks. Discovering a territory is always a challenge.”
