Sustainable Tourism Law

THE MOUNTAIN, A TERRITORY FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW IN FRANCE 381 meteorological, etc.) in the mountain areas. Financial assistance but also specific measures in terms of construction andmaterials required to the activity can be offered. Furthermore, the use of the special mention “ montagne ” has been made availablein France for several years, after an authorization by the administrative authority. 15 The purpose of this mention is to add value to products which originate from the mountain areas in order to safeguard its particular economy but also to promote the mountain traditions and culture. This mention can be used on foodstuffs (except wine) and on agricultural products. This should not be confused with the mention “product of mountain” for which conditions of use are set out in the Delegated Regulation (EU) n.° 665/2014. In practice, the mention “ montagne ” cannot be limited to products from French mountains. The European Court of Justice admitted the adoption of national rules for the use of the mention “ montagne ” in relation to agricultural products and foodstuffs but considered that this should not be restricted to French products 16 . d) Developing public services in mountains It is essential to adapt the supply of public services to the mountain areas. The characteristics of this territory from a geographical and climate point of view make access to public services more difficult. The Mountain Act II first insists on the conservation of school infrastructure for primary school students. It is specified that the calculation of the required number of teachers shall also take into consideration the number of children of seasonal workers, to avoid understaffing. The same principle applies to hospital services. The mountain areas should at least maintain emergency services, maternity and general medicine services. Nevertheless, the outcome of such provisions has been questioned given that the act fails to propose financing to accompany such public services. The costs of such public services will obviously be higher in mountain areas than in other regions and these provisions can appear as a mere declaration of intent 17 . In addition, the municipalities will be entitled to delegate the slope safety to the ski lifts and cableways companies that are in practice already in charge of safety on the ski slopes. They will also be entitled to intervene outside the ski slope, but only when the intervention zone is accessible with ski lifts or cableways. 15 Article 34 of the Mountain Act I; now in Articles L.641-14 à 118 and R.641-232 à 44 of the rural Code. 16 ECJ, C-321/94, C-322/94, C-323/94, C-324/94, 7 May 1997, Pistre e.a. 17 La présence et l’organisation des services publics en montagne, AJDA 2017, p. 789.