Emmanuel Macron is due to present such measures on Thursday, after visiting the Sea of Ice, whose melting is a spectacular illustration of the impact of global warming in France.

After a night at altitude, and before detailing measures to protect Mont Blanc, Emmanuel Macron went to the Mer de Glace on the morning of Thursday 13 February, which illustrates the spectacular damage caused by global warming. Dressed in a ski suit, the president went to the famous glacier, an alternation of light brown rock and bright greyish ice, which has experienced accelerated melting in recent years, with more than 120 metres of ice lost in a century.

The head of state also visited the ice cave, a blueish tunnel dug into the glacier. “I hadn’t imagined such a rapid melting, it’s impressive. We realize how the non-decisions made it come to this point,” exclaimed Mr. Macron, accompanied by guides and experts who each year spend four months reshaping the ice cave.

It is estimated that the sea of ice is retreating by 8 to 10 metres a year, making the site the most spectacular illustration of the impact of global warming in France. The average temperature observed near the Mont Blanc Massif has increased by 4°C between the 1950s and the 2000s. France’s longest glacier, which meanders for 7 kilometres, has receded by about 2 kilometres since 1850, giving way to a bed of pebbles at the bottom of the “white valley”.

Measures to protect Mont Blanc

While he is due to launch the French Biodiversity Office on Thursday, he dined Wednesday evening with such luminaries as the famous climatologist Jean Jouzel, biologist Camille Parmesan and biodiversity specialist Anne Larigauderie, who last year published a chilling report on the disappearance of species. Around the table were also leaders of associations such as Michel Dubromel, President of France Nature Environnement, and personalities including explorer-adventurer Mike Horn.

Emmanuel Macron said he wants to make ecology one of the two priorities of his five-year term, which is mired in pension reform. With one month to go before the municipal elections, the head of state is focusing on a subject that is now unavoidable, including at the polls. To open this chapter, he chaired Wednesday at the Elysée Palace an ecological defense council.

At the exit, Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Ecological Transition, confirmed an extension of natural parks and flood adaptation measures. The council also announced the creation of a protected area on the Mont Blanc site by the end of the year. These measures were generally considered insufficient by environmental associations.

Emmanuel Macron is due to return down to Chamonix to detail measures to protect Mont Blanc and its ecosystem, threatened by over-visitation and incivility. The massif, which peaks at 4,809 m, will be further protected by the entry into force of a prefectural decree of natural protection.