After the scandal of snow delivered in trucks for the 2024 Biathlon World Cup, the City of Annecy announced its withdrawal from the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival which takes place every summer in Annecy.
“The elected officials wanted not to renew the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival” declared François Astorg, the environmentalist mayor of Annecy, a city which also withdrew from the 2026 Biathlon World Cup in Grand-Bornand.
As our colleagues from Blast showed on December 3, “this Monday, December 2, a ballet of trucks loaded with white gold was observed driving towards the Grand Bornand ski resort. Alarmed by the absence of snowflakes while it is due to host the Biathlon World Cup from December 16 to 22, the Alpine town will cover its slopes with snow from snowfarming. […] The icing on the snow cannon, Grand Bornand has been designated to host the biathlon events for the 2030 Winter Olympics. The opportunity to establish an Olympic ballet event in a snow truck? »
And our colleagues from Reporterre continued on December 9: “No less than 6,000 m3 of snow were transported in two and a half days — half as much as last year, according to the mayor of Grand-Bornand, André Perrillat-Amédé. Mountain Wilderness and other associations denounce an absurd approach to global warming. Faced with these contradictions, institutional support crumbles. François Astorg, environmentalist mayor of Annecy, announced in Libération the withdrawal of his city's support from 2026. Annecy, which contributes 100,000 euros to the financing and organization of the event, no longer wishes to support this model : « Adapting the mountain to warming cannot wait any longer. »«
