Alpine hikers warned of €750 fine for excessive flower picking
French police have warned Alpine hikers they will be fined hundreds of euros if they pick too many blooming plants on their summer walks.
Officers confiscated thousands of génépi sprigs and edelweiss flowers during a week-long enforcement operation this month.
The local authorities said 20 hikers had been given verbal warnings and told they would be fined up to €750 if they broke the regulations again.
While not all the mountain plants and flowers are officially protected, conservationists say the destruction of swathes of local flora is putting at risk the diversity of the natural heritage of the Savoie and the wider French Alps.
François Ravier, the prefect for the south-eastern Savoie region, said: “Throughout the summer, state services maintain a strong presence at the many exceptional natural sites in the department. The preservation of biodiversity is an overriding national objective, which can be achieved through high-quality information for hikers and targeted controls.”
In the Savoie there is a ban on picking blooms of protected plants including certain species of lilies, cyclamen and, in some areas, arnica. To ensure the edelweiss can “bloom and grow forever” – as in The Sound of Music – picking its flowers is outlawed.
Visitors are allowed to collect génépi, an aromatic plant that is part of the sage family and can be used to produce a strong liqueur, but only up to 120 sprigs a day. Gathering daffodils, narcissi and carnations is limited to 20 stems a hiker each day.
Farther north in the Vosges, authorities have banned the commercial harvesting of arnica plants – widely used by pharmaceutical companies – for a second year running due to drought in the region. The departmental council said there had been three years of low yields.
“In 2023, poor flowering is primarily linked to the hot weather and the absence of rainfall for over a month. No area is suitable for picking under current harvesting rules, which require sufficient flowering density,” it said.
The Vosges mountains normally provide three-quarters of France’s wild harvest of this flower, valued for its anti-inflammatory properties and used to produce capsules, oil, gel and cream.
As part of an awareness campaign in the Savoie, leaflets are being distributed to remind visitors of the various restrictions in Alpine sites. Targeted checks are being carried out by agents from the national forestry office, national parks and the biodiversity office, as well as gendarmes and local police.
Hapless hikers unsure of what they can or cannot pick have been advised to consult the regulations.