As the Winter Olympics and Paralympics (WOP) begin this month, it is important to remember that hosting such an event has an environmental and social cost. In 2030, the next Winter OP will take place in the French Alps. Let's look at past experiences to recall the impact of such an event, which only benefits the capitalist bourgeoisie who find their financial interests there. ----- The critical geography work of David Harvey extensively explains the role of space and certain places in attracting capital, accumulating it, and generating rent. He shows that understanding the contradictions of capitalism is inseparable from understanding land-use planning. Mountain regions with ski resorts have become privileged sites for the reproduction of capital, with a real estate development logic leading to the development of artificial snow and infrastructure, all at the expense of public funds. Moreover, Gabriel Fablet echoes David Harvey's analysis in his thesis when he describes ski resorts as a "territorialized productive organization"[1].
The municipalities that support the development of ski resorts are thus urban entrepreneurs in international competition. Consequently, these investments trigger a dependence on past (poor) choices from which mountain communities struggle to break free. Capitalists profit from these large-scale facilities, leaving enormous debts in the surrounding areas and devastating the environment. The 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, to be held in the French Alps, will provide an opportunity to witness this logic at work once again. Numerous unnecessary, costly, and environmentally destructive infrastructures are promised.
Disastrous Past Experiences
To grasp the scale of the impending disaster, we can look to our Italian neighbors. Indeed, the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games will take place throughout February 2026. They offer a good preview of what awaits us in 2030. There are, in fact, many similarities between the two bids: both are located in the same Alpine region, both resorts have already hosted numerous international competitions, and both will feature multiple Olympic venues. These 2026 and 2030 Games are also presented as having "no cost" to the environment and health, and promises have been made to build minimal infrastructure and to reuse existing facilities.
Yet, in Italy, the construction of tourist infrastructure in the mountains has been rampant. For example, only two venues were to be built from scratch: the Olympic Village in Milan and the PalaItalia arena in Milan Santa Giulia. This is obviously false, as there are actually 94 infrastructure projects for these Olympic Games, 44 of which concern sports facilities and 50 concern transport infrastructure. A new bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track was built, against the advice of the International Olympic Committee and despite an existing facility, in one of the most beautiful settings in the Dolomites, which was ravaged for the occasion.
Furthermore, while announced with a budget of EUR1.6 billion, the 2026 Olympic Games have already exceeded EUR5 billion because Italy is taking the opportunity to finance other infrastructure projects, such as roads. Also, there are 45 official sponsors and partners, including giants in fossil fuels (such as Eni) and arms manufacturing (such as Leonardo), with the event, which they finance to the tune of 40%, serving as greenwashing for them. Furthermore, 2 million cubic meters of artificial snow will be created using 836,000 cubic meters of water. Also, the Olympic Games projects benefited from an exceptional legal framework, which led to 64% of the projects related to Milan-Cortina 2026 not including an environmental impact assessment in the initial phase[2].
The Milan Olympic Village under construction in 2024. (Wikimedia/Marcuscalabresus) Many construction projects are also taking place on sites marked by high natural hazards. For example, the temporary Olympic Village was built on an area of high hydrological risk, with an absurd construction system involving trucks transporting the 377 houses of the Olympic Village four at a time in each truck.
Large water storage reservoirs for artificial snow production have been built: one with a capacity of 200,000 cubic meters in the Mottolino area and another with a capacity of 120,000 cubic meters in the Carosello area. In fact, the need for artificial snow will be immense, with double the usual water consumption projected for the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Moreover, in Italy, the mafia also benefits: it is known that 56 people involved in these projects were flagged by the Directorate of Anti-Mafia Investigations for their possible links to mafia organizations, and the awarding of public contracts remains questionable.
In short, these Olympics are once again being used to reinforce the already infernal tourism infrastructure, to funnel public money into private companies dedicated to the construction work, some of which may even be linked to the mafia. As a reminder, the Italian Olympics are 60% publicly funded. Numerous deficits threaten to cripple the finances of small towns, such as Cortina, as was already the case in Savoie for the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics, and in Grenoble in 1968.
Conversely, the 2030 Winter Olympics planned for the French Alps will take place in resorts that will also see significant construction. The Olympic law, which establishes an exceptional legal framework, is currently being debated in Parliament. At this stage, it proposes exempting construction projects necessary for the Olympics from environmental and urban planning regulations. It also shamelessly proposes housing members of the Olympic organizing committee in hostels for young workers. There are fears of evictions similar to those experienced by students in student residences during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Furthermore, the municipalities slated to host the events are already facing legal repercussions, notably for water consumption issues related to the local urban development plan (Le Grand Bornand), an illegal high-altitude reservoir (La Clusaz), and illegal water withdrawals for artificial snowmaking (Le Grand Bornand, La Clusaz, Courchevel)[3].
These Olympics are disastrous for workers and the environment. The social charter supported by the unions, particularly the CGT, must be denounced! NO to the Olympics everywhere in the Alps and beyond!
Oriane (UCL Grenoble)
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[1]G. Fablet, "Between the performance of the production tool and the sustainability of the development tool: the real estate dilemma in new high-altitude resorts," Université Grenoble Alpes, 2015.
[2]"The insostenibili olimpiadi di Milano-Cortina 2026: tutte le promesse tradite," La Via Libera no. 33, 2025.
[3]M. Kerinec, "2030 Winter Olympics: the budgetary scam of the Barnier/Wauquiez duo," Blast-info.fr, October 14, 2024.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Jeux-olympiques-et-paralympiques-d-hiver-NO-JO-ni-ici-ni-ailleurs
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Link: (en) France, UCL AL #368 - Ecology - Winter Olympics and Paralympics: NO-Games, not here or anywhere else! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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