Pascal Sciabbarrasi reveals the priorities of Environmentalists for Annecy

What priorities for the Ecologists of Haute-Savoie in Annecy and the region? From the fight against Lyme disease to securing the Pont de la Caille, including the municipal elections of 2026… The Ecologists of Haute-Savoie made their political return this week. The opportunity for Pascal Sciabbarrasi, the party spokesperson, to put forward his priorities.

• The fight against lyme disease thanks to foxes

First point: hunting. Last year, the Ecologists of Haute-Savoie proposed, as we recall, to go from two days of hunting authorized during the week, to only one day, on Sunday. The objective? Promote the population’s access to nature. A proposal which had been dismissed out of hand by the Hunters’ Federation.

This year, the party decided to focus on a public health scourge: lyme disease. He recalls in particular that between 2009 and 2020, nearly 70,000 cases of Lyme borreliosis were diagnosed. His solution to eradicate the disease: the fox, which eats rodents which allow the development of contaminated ticks. “We kill no less than 500,000 foxes each year in France, denounces Pascal Sciabbarrasi. But they nevertheless represent an intelligent solution to eradicate this disease.”

• For securing the Pont de la Caille

While repair work will very soon be undertaken at the Pont de la Caille, the Ecologists party is calling for its security. Nicknamed “the bridge of suicides”, the infrastructure of Cruseilles has attracted many desperate visitors for years. “Today, there is only one mention on each side of the work which indicates a listening number, underlines Pascal Sciabbarrasi, it remains very insufficient.”

After their support shown to the collective of Guardians of Agricultural Land against the Brassilly industrial zone project, the Ecologists are standing firm in the face of PFAS. As a reminder, in 2023, a control program made it possible to highlight the contamination by PFAS of three wells in the Iles zone, located in the municipal territories of Annecy and Epagny-Metz-Tessy. Environmentalists point out the silence of Mr. Pierre Bruyère, mayor of Poisy and president of the Syndicat Mixte du Lac (SILA) on the subject. Environmentalists today wish to put the subject back on the table to advance research and solutions.

• The problem of real estate development in Poisy

Self-proclaimed “nature village”, Poisy is nevertheless experiencing very significant demographic development. A contradiction that the Ecologist party denounces. “With endless construction projects, notably roads, expressways or the creation of ZAEs, points to Pascal Sciabbarrasi. Going in this direction, we cannot reconcile “nature village” and real estate development.”

• Global warming: towards cycling and the rail network

Between now and 2028, the department will invest more than 1.5 billion euros in the maintenance of the department’s road network. A choice which, according to the party, risks accelerating the consequences of global warming. Among the major projects he denounces, we find in particular the maintenance of 3,000 kilometers of road, including 80 kilometers identified as high risk. But also the completion of the Annecy bypass estimated at 180 million euros, or the securing of the RD22 in Bioge for 100 million euros. “Investing in the creation of new roads means more cars and therefore more greenhouse gases, underlines Pascal Sciabbarrasi. The idea remains to try to limit these constructions to move more towards cycling and the development of the rail network.”

• CERN: “the largest construction site in Europe” unknown to the population

On the subject of CERN and its Future Circular Collider (FCC), the Green Party denounces a pharaonic project with exorbitant costs. He is outraged by its impact on the territory. But above all, Pascal Sciabbarrasi highlights the lack of information and consultation between CERN and the populations concerned. “The only way they have to get information today is through the opposition.”

• “We will support the Astorg balance sheet”

If it is still early to talk about the municipal elections of 2026, Pascal Sciabbarrasi recalls that his party has always supported the “Révillons Annecy” list of François Astorg, current mayor of Annecy. According to him, it remains a citizen list with different sensitivities.“Europe Ecology the Greens are committed to defending the record of the mayor of Annecy to the end”specifies the spokesperson. Note that the party, however, has a reservation about potential support for François Astorg, if he were to run again in 2026.

• The question of overtourism

The Ecologists of Haute-Savoie, attentive to the evolution of this situation, express their particular concern about the impact of overtourism on the quality of life of Annecy residents. “From year to year, we feel increasing tension among residents, and not only in the city center. The entire city center is now affected.” The consequences of this influx of tourists remain worrying, particularly for biodiversity and the quality of life of residents. “Many people come for the living environment, but this constant development ends up harming this same living environment.” He therefore proposes to reorient communication to encourage visitors to adopt more sustainable tourism practices, oriented towards nature. Overtourism which also revives the debate on short-term rentals and the housing shortage. “Many workers today refuse positions in Annecy because they cannot find accommodation,” he laments, highlighting a problem which increasingly affects the local economic fabric.