Since 2000, the commune of Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc has been committed to sustainable development, seeking to reconcile respect for nature with the development of tourism. This commitment has been recognised by the award of the Flocon Vert label, with 2 flocons to be awarded in 2022. Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc is the first resort to be directly awarded 2 flocons, a distinction that recognises the town’s ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable region.
On 6 September, Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc will mark a turning point in sustainable mobility with the inauguration of the “Valléen”, a unique gondola lift linking the SNCF station and the market town of Le Fayet to the centre of Saint-Gervais village in just five minutes. This innovative project, the result of two decades of commitment to sustainable development on the part of the municipality, is the symbol of a transition towards a mountain environment that is more respectful of the environment and accessible to all.
Jean-Marc Peillex, Mayor of Saint-Gervais since 2001, gives us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Le Valléen, the new centrepiece of this strategy. Le Valléen’ is the latest key element in this strategy, and will make these ambitions a reality by offering an environmentally-friendly alternative to the car for getting to and around the resort all year round.
The “Le Valléen” lift in Saint-Gervais: a long-standing commitment
The “Le Valléen” lift embodies a long-standing commitment to sustainable mobility in Saint-Gervais. As Jean-Marc Peillex points out, “you can’t carry out projects for a community without thinking about the long term”. Although the lift was built in just over a year, the project took around three years to bring to fruition.
Jean-Marc Peillex points out that the ‘Valléen’ concept did not originate with him, but was a reworking of projects encouraged by Laurent Wauquiez and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which pushed resorts to develop Valléen lifts. The aim was simple but ambitious: to create a form of mobility that didn’t exist before, and to facilitate or create links between villages or tiered communities. Saint-Gervais, stretching from 580 metres to 4,809 metres at the summit of Mont Blanc, lends itself particularly well to this kind of initiative.
“Saint-Gervais is the most unevenly built commune in Europe. It is made up of several villages. Le Fayet, situated at 580 metres, used to be called “Les champs d’en bas” because, until the beginning of the XXᵉ century, there were only a few buildings. Then the train arrived in the 1900s, after the Glacier de Tête Rousse disaster in 1892, and from then on everything changed. The train arrived, and like in the Wild West, buildings began to spring up around the station, a nerve centre and an economic hub.
“Saint-Gervais is a beginning and an end,” explains Jean-Marc Peillex. “Our station is a terminus and therefore also a point of departure. It’s not just a transit station. We are the terminus and departure point for journeys on major international rail lines, and for the TGV des neiges at weekends in winter, even if we don’t have the privilege of having it all the time, unlike some regions of Savoie.
Saint-Gervais is also the beginning and end of the Léman Express, coming from or going to the Geneva region and the Greater Geneva area. We are also the beginning and end of the Mont-Blanc Express, a metre-gauge train, different from the traditional SNCF tracks, linking Martigny in Switzerland, Chamonix and Saint-Gervais. Finally, we are the beginning and end of the Mont-Blanc tramway, the highest cog railway in France, which in winter serves our second ski area “Les Houches Saint-Gervais” and in summer takes mountaineers up to the Nid d’Aigle, at an altitude of around 2,400 metres, their starting point for the ascent of Mont Blanc.
On a personal level, Jean-Marc Peillex talks about his desire to revitalise his region: “I would describe myself as an opportunist, a term that Jean-Pierre Raffarin used at the inauguration of the Thermes lift, when he jokingly described me as a ‘subsidy racketeer’. However, far from being a racketeer, I am simply attentive to the opportunities that present themselves, even if this may arouse jealousy. This proactive attitude has enabled us to finance several projects with European funds in collaboration with our Italian partners, in particular the Valle d’Aosta. When Laurent Wauquiez announced that he would finance 30% of the valley lift projects, with a ceiling of €10 million in subsidies, I naturally said to myself: “Why not us? This pragmatic, action-oriented approach has enabled us to bring ambitious projects to fruition for the municipality”.
“Le Valléen”:towards a sustainable link between residents and the local area
The “Le Valléen” lift project in Saint-Gervais didn’t happen overnight. “You don’t carry out a route and a project of this scale without following a thoughtful and gradual process,” explains Jean-Marc Peillex, the town’s mayor.
One day, on his way back from a meeting at the departmental council, he came up with an idea as he passed a roundabout where three of the four branches had already been laid out. “I asked myself: ‘What if we created this fourth branch, where could it take us with a cable car? This idea of a cable car to the ski slopes had already been considered in the 1980s, but abandoned in the face of the controversy it generated.
Jean-Marc Peillex then decided to take up this idea by tracing a line from this roundabout, in the commune of Domancy, to Le Bettex, the intermediate resort of the main Saint-Gervais ski area. He brought together the mayors of the neighbouring communes concerned, who congratulated him on the project, but their municipal councils did not agree. Faced with this situation, the project was moved to be located entirely within the Saint-Gervais municipality. ” We continued in this direction. During subsequent meetings, two things came to light. Firstly, the mayor of Megève advised me not to link up with Le Bettex but to move the arrival point closer to the town of Saint-Gervais. Secondly, by bringing together all the parties involved from the outset – including the government departments, in particular the DDT and the DREAL – the latter expressed its support for the project while suggesting that it should be closer to the station. Thanks to this suggestion, we decided to place the lift close to the SNCF station”.
“We need to have the courage to make the project a reality”, says Jean-Marc Peillex, determined not to let this project become a theoretical concept like so many others! For the mayor, this is not the first time he has overcome obstacles. He recalls the construction of the bridge at the entrance to Saint-Gervais, a project that has existed since 1937, which he and his municipal team managed to get the département to carry out between 2010 and 2012.
“Before it was built, the houses would vibrate as the lorries drove through the village with its grimy walls. Today, thanks to the new bridge, we’ve transformed Saint-Gervais into a pleasant place with terraces everywhere and a real village life. With ‘Le Valléen’, we’re going to create a new link with similar virtues to those we created with the bridge”.
Thinking up a project and wanting to see it come to fruition is the first step, then it’s a question of ensuring its financial feasibility and funding. Convinced of the need to build the low-carbon mobility infrastructure of the future, the Haute-Savoie Departmental Council is providing substantial financial support, €21,200k, alongside the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes Region (€9,000k) and the municipality (€1,000k), as part of the State-Region Plan Contract (CPER). The balance of the investment (€13,800k) will be borne by STBMA, the delegated operator.
Fewer journeys and a revolution for the mobility of secondary school students in Saint-Gervais
The Valléen is a 100% low-carbon means of transport, designed to relieve congestion on the only road between Le Fayet and the centre of Saint-Gervais. By reducing road traffic by almost 15,000 cars a year, the Valléen will cut CO2 emissions by around 15%, making a significant contribution to the fight against global warming.
The objectives of the Valléen lift go far beyond simply reducing the number of cars on the road. “It’s about creating something new,” explains Jean-Marc Peillex. “Of course, there are environmental gains, as you can see from the data sheets, but the essential thing is to enable residents, for example those who live in Le Fayet, to benefit from all the public services.” At present, these residents pay the same taxes as those who live in the market town of Saint-Gervais, but access to essential facilities such as the ice rink, swimming pool, library and medical centre, all located in Saint-Gervais, is difficult for them without a car. “From now on, they will be able to take full advantage of the public services to which they contribute financially, just like other residents.
“When you put in place a valley lift, you have two options: either you integrate it into a genuine mobility policy with a new vision, or it is regarded as a simple ski lift”, stresses the mayor. This new vision applies to villages such as Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, situated at an altitude of 1,200 metres, where public transport has disappeared since the association with Saint-Gervais 50 years ago. “The 250 inhabitants of Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce are cut off from the rest of their commune,” notes Jean-Marc Peillex.
To remedy this, the logic behind “Le Valléen” is to create a real backbone of mobility: “From the station, you can go to Sallanches or Chamonix to work, but once you arrive in Saint-Gervais how do you get there? The answer was quickly found by imagining a public transport service that would operate all year round, so that “Le Valléen” would not be reduced to a tourist cable car.”
So on 2 September, a new public transport service will be launched, linking Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce and the hamlets that follow to “Le Valléen” and extending as far as the Pratz sports centre, using a 21-seater electric shuttle. “It’s a real revolution,” says Jean-Marc Peillex, “it’s rare to find in a town of our size a public transport service that runs every hour, all year round, and is carbon-free.
“Le Valléen” in Saint-Gervais: accessibility and freedom of movement for all
For “Le Valléen” to be used, it has to be made accessible. “We’re introducing a whole new approach to mobility,” insists Jean-Marc Peillex. This will require residents to change their habits. “Today, in the mountains, you’re used to going up to ski. If you say to someone: ‘Now you’re coming down to go skiing’, it’s completely counter-intuitive. We’re going to offer them the chance to use the shuttle bus to get to Le Valléen, to make it easier for them to get to the ski area and avoid parking problems”.
The second issue raised by Jean-Marc Peillex is the financial barrier. “Our first users will be our residents,” he explains. “Le Valléen is designed first and foremost for them, although tourists will also benefit from it. It is the tourists who will ensure the financial equilibrium of the project. Without the integration of this transport into the package of our ski lifts and skiing, for which the delegatee provides considerable financial support, this project would not have seen the light of day.”
Finally, taking its cue from Montpellier, which recently decided to offer free public transport to all residents, Saint-Gervais has taken a similar decision. “In the past, the sacrosanct principle of equality before a public service prevented the creation of preferential fares for permanent residents. But now that Montpellier has done so, we have decided to offer all residents a free pass for the first year”, concludes the mayor.
Towards a “mobility revolution
To facilitate access to the “Le Valléen” lift, three categories of pass have been introduced. “School transport will be accessible via Le Valléen”, explains Jean-Marc Peillex. The Region has played a key role in eliminating the bus between Saint-Gervais and the Lycée du Mont-Blanc. “There will be a break in the load, and the pupils will be dropped off at the cable car to take the Valléen to the lycée”, he explains.
The Communauté de communes Pays du Mont-Blanc’s “school pass”, which allows pupils to take advantage of winter and summer activities, will also give them access to Le Valléen from 15 December, when the resort opens.
For other residents, the commune has innovated by creating the “Pass SaintG’air”. “When people talk about Saint-Gervais, they often say ‘I’m going to Saint-Ger’, so we played on this nickname to invent this pass”, explains Jean-Marc Peillex. Although the pass is free for the user, it is financed by the commune, which will pay its delegate to offer it to residents. “This represents a cost of around €180,000 for the municipality”, he points out, justifying this decision by the desire to eliminate the financial barrier. However, he is realistic: “I’ll be honest, we won’t be doing this indefinitely.”
Jean-Marc Peillex looks back at the commissioning on 3 August of the “Thermes lift”, an inclined lift powered by the weight of waste water. Barely two weeks later, “by 20 August, we had already recorded more than 5,000 journeys”, he points out. “If you multiply that by an average occupancy of ten people per cabin, which can hold 16, that’s more than 50,000 people transported in a fortnight”, he boasts. This long-awaited project is an integral part of the municipality’s new mobility strategy, linking the thermal park to the entrance to the village of Saint-Gervais and already transforming local life.
“That’s why I’m talking about a revolution in mobility, and not just ‘clean’ or ‘decarbonised’ mobility, as some environmentalists or national administrations are saying,” insists the mayor. Jean-Marc Peillex recalls that the car has long been perceived as the symbol of freedom, particularly in the 1950s, when those who could not afford it were forced to use public transport, which was often seen as a punishment. “The rich had cars,” he says, pointing out how rising living standards enabled many to gain access to individual mobility.
“But today, we’re offering something a little different,” he explains. “We are creating alternatives that will allow people to enjoy a new freedom, that of individual mobility without having to buy or use their vehicle.” With this in mind, the Valléen, linking Le Fayet to Saint-Gervais, will operate 365 days a year, from 7 a.m. to 8.30 p.m., just like the electric shuttle, with automatic systems that will prevent the cabins from turning unnecessarily when there is no one there, thus offering a new approach to mobility in the mountains, simple and carbon-free.
Improving quality of life and attracting tourists
Le Valléen doesn’t just make it easier to get around: it also helps to improve the quality of life of local residents by reducing noise and pollution, while enhancing the tourist appeal of the area. By linking the Évasion Mont-Blanc ski area to major urban centres such as London, Brussels, Paris, Lyon and Geneva, visitors can arrive by train and reach the slopes without ever using their car. A feat that will be further enhanced by the replacement of the second section linking the centre of Saint-Gervais to Le Bettex, scheduled for the start of winter 2024-2025.
There are two aspects to consider. Firstly, tourism in Saint-Gervais is permanent. Unlike resorts like Megève, Courchevel or Val d’Isère, we welcome tourists all year round. There are no slow months when the resort is completely empty.
“Our tourism development strategy, which has been in place for 20 years, focuses on local tourism, although of course we receive visitors from all over the world. The ‘background noise’ for our tourism activity comes mainly from the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region and the Geneva area. The idea is to create infrastructures that serve the residents first and foremost, because that’s the core of my policy. With my team, we design projects for the benefit of permanent residents, and then we scale them so that tourists can enjoy them too. For example, Le Valléen will enable people to come by train with their bikes and spend a weekend in Saint-Gervais.
Thanks to the year-round shuttles, it will even be possible to travel from Brussels to Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce without a car, whatever the season. We’re not in the seasonal services business. In Saint-Gervais, secondary residents and tourists share the same space as the locals; there is no distinction, we live in and enjoy the same spaces, the same facilities, it’s a clever mix. So, whatever the month or day of the year, tourists will no longer have to ask us if transport is available, because it’s there all the time. We’ve set up a real permanent link that makes it easier for them to come here”.
Le Valléen is part of a wider vision of sustainable tourism development. By facilitating access to winter and summer activities such as mountain biking and paragliding, it will make Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc a year-round destination of choice, whatever the weather, attracting local tourists and contributing to the local economy.
“The second link in the Le Valléen chain, which will be called L’Alpin, is the replacement of our gondola lift linking Saint-Gervais to Le Bettex, the DMC, itself built on the skeleton of the first cable car dating from 1936. The renovation will be completed by 15 December. It will be a gondola lift with ten-seater cabins, using the same station as the Valléen, but complying with tourist cableway regulations. All you have to do is change cabins. This new equipment will be able to transport up to 2,800 people per hour, compared with 1,800 previously.
As a pioneer in the introduction of sustainable mobility solutions in the mountains, Saint-Gervais has already started to share its experience. ” The Thermes lift is arousing a lot of curiosity. We’ll be welcoming delegations from France and abroad, including members of the Geneva airport environment committee.
When it comes to mobility, there is no single solution. Each region requires an approach tailored to its specific characteristics. What we have succeeded in doing is breaking the deadlock of the impossibility of carrying out such projects. There were many valley lift projects in Haute-Savoie, but they never saw the light of day. By getting all the parties around the table and having the courage to take the plunge, to brave the critics, to confront the defenders of dogma and to take a few knocks, we can show that it is possible.
Of course, you also need to know the funding network and know how to convince them to make it feasible, as we have done with the department, the region and our partner STBMA.
Our project should act as a trigger for other similar initiatives. By showing that, even in remote mountain regions or rural areas of France, it is possible to imagine modern, low-carbon, forward-looking transport, I think it will make many people think”, concludes Jean-Marc Peillex.
With the Valléen, Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc is showing the way to a new approach to tourism and mobility in the mountains, built around balance and respect for the environment, where the quality of life of the local people is at the heart of its actions. This pioneering initiative confirms the town’s determination to be at the forefront of sustainable tourism, offering its residents and visitors a mountain that is accessible, lively and sustainable for future generations.
Key figures
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- Total cost of the “le Valléen” and “L’Alpin” projects: €45 million
- Financial partners: Department of Haute-Savoie (€21.2m), STBMA (€13.8m), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region (€9m), Commune of Saint-Gervais (€1m)
- Reduction in road traffic: 15,000 cars per year
- Reduction in CO2 emissions: 15
- Transport capacity: “Le Valléen” 1,200 people/hour, 250,000 round trips per year – “L’Alpin” 2,800 people/hour.
