A political controversy has erupted in France after European Parliament member Emma Fourreau accused men of abandoning female partners on dangerous mountain hikes.
The left-wing politician declared that instances of men leaving women behind on trails were becoming increasingly frequent, describing the behavior as a form of domestic violence. She reported that a growing number of women have described being left stranded in isolated wilderness areas without essential gear, including drinking water, food supplies, navigation maps, or GPS devices.
Fourreau also suggested that some men deliberately abandon their companions so they can walk or climb faster, attempting to improve their personal fitness stats on the activity-tracking app Strava. However, news reports clarify that no official statistical study exists to confirm whether there is a real numerical surge in such mountain abandonment cases.
The trend has brought renewed attention to the English term alpine divorce, which French national newspaper Le Figaro reports has been circulating on social media platforms for several months. The expression refers to any situation where a hiker or climber abandons their partner during a trek or high-altitude excursion.
Origin of alpine divorce term
The phrase traces its roots to An Alpine Divorce, a short story published in 1893 by Scottish-Canadian writer Robert Barr, which depicts a man plotting his wife's murder during a mountain trip in the Alps. The term resurfaced online in 2026 after women began publishing personal accounts of being left isolated on remote trails, often suffering from physical exhaustion or left without vital equipment.
Victims have described a spectrum of neglect by male companions. Reported incidents range from partners walking far ahead at an aggressive pace without checking behind, to complete abandonment of a partner in high-risk terrain following a personal argument.
Fatal Grossglockner mountain case
The most severe incident linked to the phenomenon occurred on Grossglockner, Austria's tallest mountain, which reaches an elevation of 3,798 metres in the Hohe Tauern range of the Eastern Alps. On January 19, 2025, a 33-year-old woman froze to death while attempting to summit the peak alongside her partner during an arduous climb reserved for experienced mountaineers.
An investigation by the public prosecutor's office in the Austrian city of Innsbruck determined that the woman's partner was far more experienced in high-altitude terrain than she was and held sole responsibility for organizing the climb. Prosecutors charged that the man made a series of disastrous decisions before abandoning his companion just a few dozen metres from the summit while she was disoriented, exhausted, and severely hypothermic.
In February 2026, an Austrian court found the man guilty of gross negligent homicide. The presiding judge sentenced him to a five-month suspended prison term along with a financial fine.
Political debate and public reaction
The public statements by Fourreau, an elected representative for the La France Insoumise political party, triggered intense debate across French media. Sophia Aram, a prominent comedian and columnist on national public radio channel France Inter, responded directly to the lawmaker in a video posted to Instagram.
Accompanied by hashtags referencing feminism, patriarchy, and domestic abuse, Aram mockingly thanked the politician, referring to her as Emma Brockovich, for exposing what Aram described as violence against abandoned female hikers during their walks. The satirical commentary quickly generated polarized reactions online.
Some social media users argued that Fourreau's comments unwittingly painted female hikers as helpless victims unable to navigate mountain trails or manage outdoor excursions independently. Others countered by accusing Aram of turning a dangerous and potentially fatal phenomenon into a subject of ridicule.
Related mountain rescues and fatalities
The controversy has highlighted several recent tragic incidents and emergency rescues reported across European mountain ranges by regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi.
In one case, an Austrian court handed a man a five-month suspended sentence after he left his female partner to freeze to death during a mountain ascent, an outcome the defense described as a tragic accident.
In another case, prosecutors indicted a climber after he abandoned his girlfriend on a high-altitude peak, leaving her unprotected, exhausted, and suffering from hypothermia.
A separate incident saw a man leave his girlfriend stranded at a snow-covered mountain summit for six hours, resulting in the victim dying from extreme cold exposure.
At an elevation of 4,000 metres, another female climber froze to death after her male companion turned back alone to seek emergency help, leaving her isolated in lethal freezing weather.
Mountain hazards have also affected larger touring groups. In the Austrian Alps, a party of 36 tourists pushing strollers with young children faced a terrifying ordeal when they became trapped just 50 centimetres from a sheer drop.
Rescuers have also responded to youth emergencies, including an operation by CRS mountain police units in the Hautes-Pyrénées region to save children injured while hiking.
In another Pyrenean incident, a 70-year-old hiker who suffered a medical emergency on a trail was successfully rescued after emergency personnel were alerted by his smartwatch.
High-mountain gendarmes were also forced to intervene to rescue a group of 14 teenagers who became completely exhausted during a difficult mountain hike.
