From his terrace located at an altitude of 1600 meters in Sallanches (Haute-Savoie), Michel Maniglier has a plunging view of the A40, this famous “white highway” that bears his name so badly. For in this recessed valley floor that gives access to the mythical peaks of the Mont Blanc range, the air we breathe is far from as immaculate as the powder that covers the roof of Europe.
Even in great weather, as we saw when we started to climb the slopes of the Roof of Europe, a gray cover covers the valley. “In autumn, winter and spring, we live under a cloud cover that blocks fine particles on the ground and in summer, it is the ozone pollution that we suffer,” says the retiree. This pollution, we feel it, we see it and we know that it kills. “
According to a study by Public Health France carried out in 2017, 8% of the mortality in the Arve valley is attributable to fine particles. The equivalent of 85 premature deaths per year! Accustomed to repetitive bronchitis, Michel points to the 628,000 trucks and more than 1,300,000 cars that use this route to the Mont-Blanc tunnel each year. In mid-June, we ourselves saw when we crossed the border the scale of heavy goods vehicle traffic between France and Italy. “In my village, there is practically no farm or chalet where one of the inhabitants does not suffer from air pollution, accuses the septuagenarian. My sister, who was not a smoker, had a chalet at an altitude of 1,300 meters and died of lung cancer. “
The state under threat of a record penalty
In the heart of this Arve valley, where pollution exceeded levels observed along the Paris ring road a few years ago, 540 complaints against X were lodged by residents in spring 2018 for endangering the life of others. Pneumopathies, asthma, bronchitis, chronic otitis in children … many Haut-Savoyards settled at the foot of Mont-Blanc believe that their health is in danger. “In the schools in the valley, there is a pictogram representing a giraffe colored according to air quality,” explains Muriel Auprince, member of the Coll’Air pur santé collective. If the giraffe is orange, children can go out into the yard but are not allowed to run, and if it is red, they are not allowed to play. “
Last Friday, the Council of State summoned the State to implement plans to reduce fine particles and nitrogen oxides in 13 cities and regions, on pain of a record penalty of 10 million euros per semester late. Among the areas targeted is precisely the Arve valley, but the State Council considers that the atmospheric protection plan implemented locally to protect the 160,000 inhabitants of the sector includes “detailed” and “credible” measures to reduce pollution by 2022. Stéphane Socquet, the deputy director of the air quality observatory Atmo Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, also believes that pollution “is already being absorbed”.
“There has been an improvement trend over the past decade,” says Stéphane Socquet. In particular thanks to the air-wood fund which helps individuals to change their open hearth fireplace, which emits fine particles, with new generation inserts or wood stoves. “While more than 60% of fine particle emissions are due to domestic heating, no less than 2,500 inefficient wood heating devices were renewed between 2013 and 2017. But for Muriel Auprince,” it is the tree that hide the forest ”. “There is a real omerta and a form of complacency concerning pollution of industrial origin and that emitted by road traffic”, deplores the association manager.
“I hear the trucks on the highway every day, including at night,” sighs Michel Maniglier. “Even during the confinement, traffic did not stop, with a daily circulation of around 900 heavy goods vehicles,” assures Muriel Auprince. In Chamonix, in mid-June, to attempt our ascent of Mont-Blanc, we just crossed the Italian border via this tunnel: heavy goods vehicle traffic is incessant. “We are not veiling the face, the Mont-Blanc tunnel being paying, the truck traffic represents a big business, underlines the mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex. But in the end, it is the health of the inhabitants that is toast. “President of the Pays du Mont-Blanc community of municipalities, the elected official is less concerned about peaks of emissions than” background pollution “suffered by local residents.
Speed lowered from 130 to 110 km / h
“The range of actions proposed in the new atmospheric protection plan concerns all sources of pollution and will further reduce emissions of fine particles and 24% of NOx (nitrogen oxides) Reassures the deputy director of Atmo Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. He cites the example of the Air Industry fund, which is supposed to help factories in the valley to release less dust. “And it’s been three years since the speed went from November 1 to March 31 from 130 to 110 km / h on the Mont-Blanc highway to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions,” adds Stéphane Socquet. The Ministry of Ecology says that 20 million euros will be spent on this pollution reduction plan.
VIDEO. The unconfined Mont-Blanc
