Meeting in Paris, the National Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts (ANMSM) renewed its leadership by re-electing Jean-Luc Boch (Mayor of La Plagne Tarentaise since 2014) as its president, alongside Arnaud Mathieu (Mayor of Villard-de-Lans) as Secretary General and Mylène Agnelli (Mayor of Isola) as Treasurer, in the presence of Marina Ferrari and Edgar Grospiron. The ANMSM, which brings together around a hundred resorts across the French mountain ranges, has placed property renovation, transport, local finances, preparations for Alpes 2030 and the expansion of its capacity to unite mountain communities at the forefront of its new term of office.
This re-election is therefore less a personal endorsement than a validation of a roadmap. Jean-Luc Boch, who was first elected head of the ANMSM in 2020, has for several years championed a highly political perspective on the French mountains: in his view, resorts are employment hubs, places to live and key drivers of regional economies, not merely winter postcard scenes. This framing of the debate explains the tone of the new term of office, in the run-up to the next presidential election, with a clear commitment to putting the local authorities that support the resorts back at the heart of the national agenda.
The 2030 Games: from vision to reality
The main purpose of this general meeting is to demonstrate that ‘Alpes 2030’ is no longer merely a symbolic concept, but is already being put into practice. In its press release of 24 July 2024, published at the time the Games were awarded, the ANMSM was already emphasising a project based on environmental and economic sustainability, with 95% of the selected venues already existing, and the need to improve both infrastructure and transport, with a focus on rail.
Two years later, the same issues have resurfaced, but in a much more practical form: accommodation, accessibility, timetables, investment and the sustainable transformation of local areas.
Edgar Grospiron’s presence in Paris is therefore no mere formality. It marks the transition from a bid phase to an implementation phase. The French Alps 2030 Organising Committee was formally established in February 2025, with the appointment of Edgar Grospiron as its chair, thereby providing a stable institutional framework for future decision-making. For resort mayors, the issue is no longer simply one of celebrating the event, but of turning it into a concrete catalyst for the regions, particularly on the issues that the ANMSM considers decisive: accommodation provision, transport links, accessibility and financial sustainability.
ANMSM: three key priorities that truly shape the mandate
The most pressing issue is that of holiday property
The ANMSM is placing this issue at the top of its agenda because it highlights several vulnerabilities: the ageing of part of the housing stock, competition between holiday accommodation and permanent housing, the difficulty in providing accommodation for seasonal workers and, now, regulatory pressure relating to energy performance. The Le Meur Act requires existing holiday let properties to comply with the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) by 2034. Holiday let properties must meet energy performance requirements corresponding to grades A to D, with the mayor having the power to request the EPC and impose penalties for non-compliance.
On the ground, the ANMSM warns that, without support measures, some properties could be withdrawn from the rental market, with direct consequences for the local economy. Faced with this urgent situation, and given that all mountain tourist regions are affected, the ANMSM is calling for concrete measures to support and facilitate this transition and maintain the appeal of these destinations.
This warning is part of a long-term trend: as early as late 2022, the association pointed out that the regeneration of holiday properties in mountain areas had been an issue under consideration for nearly twenty years, without any truly effective large-scale measures having been put in place.
The second priority is mobility
The ANMSM is calling for firm commitments, in coordination with rail operators, regional authorities and central government, to improve access to stations and support the public’s desire to make greater use of rail travel.
On this point, the ANMSM is consistent with its previous stance: as early as 2022, it pointed out that 89% of French people still used cars to travel to their winter holiday destinations, whilst noting that a better rail service could change behaviour. The new mandate takes up this very same approach and elaborates on it: more direct trains, better promotion of night trains, a multimodal approach from the first to the last kilometre, and smarter management of passenger flows outside peak periods.
Mobility is no longer seen as a peripheral issue in environmental communication, but as a cornerstone of the future appeal of resorts.
The third priority is budgetary
The press release from the general meeting reveals that the ANMSM is concerned about a well-known squeeze effect affecting tourism-dependent local authorities: rising structural costs, a heavy burden of infrastructure maintenance, and funding which, according to the association, is no longer keeping pace, against a backdrop marked in particular by cuts to Green Fund allocations and the abolition of the housing tax.
The request is clear: greater recognition of the specific constraints faced by municipalities hosting ski resorts, the channelling of resources towards tourist municipalities, and a more practical use of fiscal equalisation to offset disproportionate costs. Once again, this is not a one-off outburst: as early as autumn 2024, the ANMSM was already warning of the effects of the national budget timetable on the resorts’ ability to adapt.
Jean-Luc Boch, a local politician who has become a national voice
Jean-Luc Boch was born in Macot La Plagne, where he has always lived and worked; he was first elected mayor in 2014, then, from 2015 onwards, played a part in the merger that gave rise to the new municipality of La Plagne Tarentaise, of which he has remained mayor. He has chaired France Montagnes since 2017 and the ANMSM since 2020, which gives him a unique position: both a deeply rooted local elected representative and a national representative for the sector. This dual perspective is invaluable, as France Montagnes defines itself as the body responsible for promoting French resorts in both winter and summer, within a framework of responsible tourism.
This grounding also explains the very down-to-earth tone of his statements. In 2023, Jean-Luc Boch pointed out that mountain tourism attracted 10 million visitors in winter, including 2 million international visitors, generating around €10 billion in turnover and 400,000 jobs, 120,000 of which were direct. He was already highlighting the recruitment challenges linked to seasonal workers’ accommodation, the accessibility of resorts and living conditions. This is probably one of the most interesting aspects of Jean-Luc Boch: for him, the discourse on the mountains is never merely promotional; it is almost always linked to issues of services, housing, employment and collective organisation.
Jean-Luc Boch, President of the ANMSM: “This new term of office begins at a pivotal moment for the French mountains. With the presidential election approaching, we must make the reality of mountain resorts heard and put them back at the heart of the national debate. Our resorts are not mere tourist destinations. They are living communities, employment hubs and economies that support hundreds of thousands of people and shape a large part of our mountain ranges. The 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games also represent a historic opportunity to showcase the French mountains. We must rise to the challenge in terms of accommodation, transport and accessibility. Defending the local authorities that support the resorts means defending regions that invest and innovate, but which also expect clear rules and adequate resources. We have priorities that now call for action: the renovation of property, transport and local finances.”
A 360° view of the mountain and a mandate that will be judged on its implementation
Another key outcome of this general meeting was the amendment to the ANMSM’s rules of procedure. From now on, any local authority hosting a mountain resort may join the association, provided it offers skiing and/or other sporting activities designed to boost the tourism economy in mountain resorts.
With this vote, the ANMSM reaffirms its raison d’être: to be the voice of mayors in all holiday resorts. This point is important, as it institutionally reflects a trend already visible in the figures: in 2024, the ANMSM noted a 2% increase in summer occupancy rates, whilst France Montagnes, for its part, advocates promoting the French mountains all year round, in winter as well as in summer. ‘Mountain 360°’ is therefore not just a catchphrase for the moment; it is an attempt to redefine the very political scope of the resorts.
In essence, Jean-Luc Boch’s new term of office resembles less a comfortable re-election than a mandate to deliver. The diagnosis is now widely accepted: we must renovate quickly, improve transport links, secure local resources, and translate the ‘Alps 2030’ vision into sustainable benefits for the municipalities. It follows that the credibility of this new term will depend less on declarations of intent than on the ANMSM’s ability to secure, before the 2030 and 2034 deadlines, specific instruments, implementation timetables and stable budgetary commitments.
