So for some background, click on link above. If not:
What does déconventionnement mean?
The answer is long, boring, tortured and more.
An answer abridged beyond usefulness:
The french climbing federation, FFME, used to write contracts, conventionnements, with landowners to assure access to crags. [These contracts guarantees the land-owner freedom from tort]
Mountain guide pulls off a block on an easy single pitch sport route and injures "client" [aka wife]
The guides insurance company sues FFME, as responsible for the safety of the "sporting arena" and wins. FFME must pay €1,6 million to injured belayer.
FFME panics, pay out and give up in courts, remember that their new core mission is indoor climbing and starts to dissolve the contracts.
FFME has cancelled contract en masse from the 1 Jan this year. There are a lot of other very good crags which has been banned recently, among them the local crag La Croix, which when it is in season is one of the best tufa sectors I ever climbed on.
More troublesome, a large part of Presles is closed for climbing as FFME and the Region has refused to sign a contract with the landowner of responsibility in case of law-suits. The base jumpers' federation has signed such contract, so they have free access to the jump off points.
After the aforementioned accident with the "guide" who had an accident with his "client" there has been a change in law in France, strengthening the principle that participants in outdoor sports should take responsibilities for their action. As I understand it, the insurance companies don't trust FFME and other associations to be fully protected by this and demand higher premiums (which—according to rumour—adds up to €7 more in yearly fee for members of FFME). FFME refuse to pay higher premiums, and outdoor climbing is not in the olympics, so fuck them.
I could not be bothered to check the ukclimbing forum, so maybe my points are covered there...
