This Is Italy
The Italian and French authorities are currently engaged in a dispute over the exact border at the top of Mont Blanc. The border dispute between Italy and France has been going on for some time, but an incident last Friday has put things on edge.
On that day, French mountain guides at the behest of Mayor Eric Fournier of Chamonix closed the gates to the Gigante Glacier. This is how Il Fatto Quotidiano reports.
The glacier is located just behind Rifugio Torino, a mountain refuge on the Italian side of Mont Blanc (the Monte Bianco in Italian terminology).
The gate stands at a point where the glacier can be entered and serves to warn tourists of the danger: without proper equipment and mountaineering experience you cannot go any further here.
Mayor Fournier believes he is right. "The glacier is on French territory and the situation there is dangerous."
Furious Italians
But in the Italian town of Courmayeur, the French action has sparked anger. 'That rifugio is in Italy and the French have nothing to say there,' said Mayor Derriard of Courmayeur. “They have removed the signs we put up to warn tourists. And the closure of the gate also poses an extra danger for mountaineers, because they now have to climb over it.'
Italy lets France know in clear terms: 'that Mont Blanc is not only yours.'
Italy bases its borders on an 1860 NATO convention that equates the Franco-Italian border with a watershed 300 meters above Rifigio Torino. The French, however, think otherwise.
Boundary post moved
These are just the latest tensions in a longer-running conflict. Earlier this summer, France moved a border post with a bulldozer over a distance of 150 meters. Even then the Italians were angry, but now that's enough.
Italy's patience with the French has run out. The Italians want the official maps to indicate that the top of Mont Blanc is shared between the two countries. Derriard has now threatened legal action and the Italian authorities have now prepared a report on the incident.
The Italian Institute of Military Geography has announced that it will conduct additional research in the coming days. It does not appear that the border dispute will be resolved for the time being.
Source: thelocal.it
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