All eyes turn to Chamonix this week as the ChamJam kicks off, but life could soon be very different in this spectacular valley.

Anyone visiting the town in the last two winters cannot fail to have noticed the lack of camions on the road. In fact, since the fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel in 1999, the reduction in lorries has been so significant that two petrol stations (one shown right) have closed their doors completely.

Local businesses have suffered from the lack of Italian tourism; restaurants and hotels last summer took significantly less; property prices have fallen.

Yes, the valley has suffered financially, but there is little doubt the air is cleaner. The incidence of asthma amongst children has reportedly already decreased.

However, although the tunnel is likely to reopen before the end of the year, there is still tremendous opposition in the area, evident in these photos from this January.

Okay, we're idealists at Natives, but this protest seems to us to indicate the difference between the French and the British.

Maybe NIMBY's are the same everywhere, but can you imagine anyone in the UK suggesting that we use the trains instead of the road...?

Agree? Disagree? Mail your views to us at Natives.

++STOP PRESS++
News in suggests that when the tunnel reopens it will not initially allow trucks. However, 3000 trucks a day (the previous average) generates over 5m FRF a week. Don't expect the ban to last long....

Find out more from the Association pour le Respect du Site du Mont Blanc