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Macron kicks off climate measures with visit to shrinking Alps glacier

After a government 'environmental defence council' meeting at which the French government announced a series of measures to combat climate change and protect bio-diversity, President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday visited a vast, shrinking glacier at the foot of the Mont Blanc where he said its melting 'is irrefutable proof of global warming'.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to create a new reserve around Mont Blanc as part of a raft of environmental policies, reports BBC News.

Speaking at the foot of Western Europe's highest mountain, he said 2020 would be a "decisive" year for the environment.

Critics have often spoken of the rising number of tourists coming to Mont Blanc and the pollution they leave behind.

Mr Macron also visited France's largest glacier that has shrunk dramatically.

"What we see with this glacier melting is irrefutable proof of global warming," Mr Macron said in Chamonix after visiting the Mer de Glace. The 7.5-kilometre (4.7 mile) glacier lies on Mont Blanc.

The president said the fight for biodiversity was "a fight for our own survival" and officially launched a new agency, the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB), which will monitor and restore the French environment.

The Chamonix event comes a day after the government announced a host of new environmental measures.

France will create a protected nature reserve around Mont Blanc by the end of the year, with rules about the number of people who can visit the mountain, especially in the summer.

Ecology minister Elisabeth Borne also announced on Wednesday that from July, civil servants will get an annual bonus of  200 euros (£168; $218) for sharing a car or cycling on their commute.

The government will stop buying single-use plastics the same month. Ministers will be encouraged to use trains for non-emergency trips, and all ministerial cars will switch to electric or hybrid power - including an armoured hybrid vehicle for Mr Macron.

The French president ate dinner at Mont Blanc on Wednesday alongside Ms Borne, Secretary of State Emmanuelle Wargon and a number of climate scientists. The delegation then visited the glacier on Thursday morning.

Read more of this report from BBC News.