A-Infos (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]

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)

Submit

[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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