France

Four French towns are bidding to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics:

The "Alpine Pearls" co-operation venture is organising a "softly mobile" winter trip through the Pearls of the Alps between 19 and 30 January 2009 - specially for members of the press.

The latest publication in the bilingual series Journal of Alpine Research comprises four specialist articles on different topical issues. The first feature deals with the rivalry for public commodities, illustrated with the specific example of an irrigation system in northern Italy.

The energy companies Dalkia and Solar Euromed have joined forces and plan to build the first solar thermal power plant in France. The plant is to be built in Chevalet d'Aspres sur Buech and will generate some 60,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.

Passenger volumes at the airports in Grenoble-Isère/F and Chambéry-Savoie/F increased by 7% and 20% respectively in the 2007/2008 winter season. In the last two years, Grenoble-Isère has had the highest rates of growth in passenger totals of all French airports.

The shrinkage of the Mer de Glace in the French Alps is having a tangible impact on the use of hydropower.

A quick demise looks to be on the cards for two ski resorts in the Ticino/CH. Indeed the ski station at Abondance/F did not even go into operation this season.

Europe's largest photovoltaic installation is set to be built in the French département of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Negotiations have already taken place for the lease of the plot of land on which the installation is to be built, at an altitude of 1,000 m above sea level.