Is the Downsizing of Ski Areas in the French Alps Part of a Degrowth Strategy?

Alpine skiing has been a growth driver for many mountain regions that specialise in winter tourism and remains a pillar of their economic vitality. These regions however face climatic, economic and social limits that challenge the viability of a tourism model that is struggling to reinvent itself. In response, adaptive strategies are emerging to improve the areas’ liveability, maintain the operation of ski resorts or plan a gradual phase-out of skiing. Among these approaches, the downsizing of skiing facilities, which involves removing part of a ski lift network, is a trend that has intensified in the French mountains. This intermediate trajectory, situated between the technical upgrading of production facilities and complete closure, has yet to be thoroughly analysed in terms of its role in a sustainability framework. This article examines this (de-)developmental trajectory through a degrowth lens. The central question is to determine whether the restructuring processes are simply an expression of economic decline or whether they form part of a real logic of degrowth. We first document the trajectory of downsizing identified across 18 French ski areas, then analyse the motivations underlying it, and whether they are associated with degrowth. We show that while certain processes may echo degrowth principles, in many cases the downsizing remains an expression of a decline that has been imposed. However, the reduction in facilities at Métabief in the Jura Mountains in the winter of 2024/25 illustrates that behind an apparent decline in skiing activity opportunities may emerge to organise a transitional tourism strategy, opening the way to sustainable local degrowth.