lit a candle 2h agoMy mother called from the States to tell me, she remembered the red sweaters from when we skied Villard-de-Lans years back. Didn't know the man ran a union for 24 years, that's a hell of a run.
Their story
Gilles Chabert was a defining figure of French ski instruction and mountain politics, best known as president of the Syndicat national des moniteurs du ski français (SNMSF), the union behind the École du ski français "red sweaters," from 1994 to 2018. For nearly a quarter of a century he fought…
Gilles Chabert was a defining figure of French ski instruction and mountain politics, best known as president of the Syndicat national des moniteurs du ski français (SNMSF), the union behind the École du ski français "red sweaters," from 1994 to 2018. For nearly a quarter of a century he fought for recognition of the instructor profession, for strict training standards, and for the mountain communities that depend on skiing.
Born in 1952 and raised in the Vercors, he spent his life in Villard-de-Lans in Isère. The son of a farmer, he worked as a lumberjack before putting on the red sweater in 1977 (instructor medal no. 3543). In 1983 he became director of the Villard-de-Lans French Ski School, then rose through national union ranks until he took the SNMSF presidency. He held the post for 24 years across six mandates, stepping down at the Nice congress in 2018, when Éric Brèche succeeded him and Chabert was named honorary president.
He became a familiar voice in debates over European rules on instructor qualifications, arguing that French diplomas should not be diluted and that client safety required high technical standards. Colleagues later recalled his skill as a negotiator in Paris and Brussels, and his attachment to the collective strength of some 17,000 instructors. The French Ski Federation credited him with reinforcing links between ski schools, clubs, regional committees, youth training and the national teams.
After leaving the union presidency he remained active in regional politics as an Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes councillor, serving as adviser on mountain affairs and on the Alpine Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games planned for 2030. Tributes after his death from elected officials in Savoie and Haute-Savoie stressed both his frankness and his loyalty to the Vercors plateau and to the "army of red sweaters."
Chabert died on 9 October 2026, aged 74, after a long illness. A death notice published from La Tronche recorded the date, and funeral services were set for 15 October 2026 at the Paroisse La Croix de Valchevrière in Villard-de-Lans. The French Ski Federation and many mountain leaders publicly mourned a man of character who had carried the profession from the slopes into the halls of power.
Biography adapted from Fédération française de ski, Grenoble Mag, Simplifia death notice, and French regional press (October 2026).
In their own words
“It is with deep sadness that the French Ski Federation learned of the passing of Gilles Chabert, former President of the National Union of French Ski Instructors (SNMSF), an emblematic figure in the mountains and a great advocate for French skiing.”
Fédération française de ski tribute, 12 October 2026
Photos
1Gilles Chabert, longtime SNMSF president and mountain advocate
by People Forever
six terms as president, people forget how long that is