Glières plateau

The Glières plateau was an important site of the French Resistance during the Second World War, its mountainous territory giving rise to a Maquis group of resistance fighters which was organized and led by lieutenant Tom Morel, Compagnon de la Libération.

The plateau was chosen in January 1944 to accept British parachute drops of arms to supply the local resistance, then as a base of operations against the German rear to take place at the moment when the awaited landings by the allies would occur.

The plateau was cut off, poorly accessible by road (and therefore by the enemy) but identifiable by allied aircraft through its proximity to Lake Annecy.

Although the British managed to carry out three parachute drops onto the plateau (of which a large one on the 10 March may have brought some 45 tonnes of weapons), the reinforcements promised by Captain "Cantinier" (Jean Rosenthal), the Free French envoy, never arrived.

The media influence of this "pilgrimage" recalled similar high-profile visits by former President François Mitterrand to the Roche de Solutré.

On 17 May 2009, on the instigation of the CRHA (Citoyens Résistants d'Hier et d'Aujourd'hui), a rally was organized on the Glières plateau to commemorate the republic's values of solidarity, fraternity, living together and of justice as expressed in the 15 March 1944 manifesto of the Conseil national de la Résistance.

A marked itinerary directs walkers around the plateau in summer, with numerous signs telling the visitor about Alpine life at the beginning of the 20th century and about the Battle of Glières, with the monument in honour of the Resistance.