France: PGHM opposes paid mountain rescue

Since 2015 the number of mountain rescue operations in France has risen by 44%. Most call-outs involve a helicopter: 85% (77% in 2015). The work is funded from public resources and rests on the principle of free mountain rescue.

In February 2026 a Cour des comptes (Court of Auditors) report put the question back on the table: could such interventions one day become charged? The debate has not gone away.

Jérémy Fabre, head of the Grenoble PGHM (Isère), opposes charging for it. On free mountain rescue services he stresses that “the cost of an intervention will never be greater than a human life.”