French-Swiss relations back on track, says ambassador

High-level contacts have resumed between Switzerland and France, which are finding areas in common, says French ambassador to Switzerland Frédéric Journès. Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

Paris was not angry over the Swiss purchase of fighter jets from the US, and the two countries are talking again, says French ambassador to Switzerland Frédéric Journès.

Last year, Switzerland approved the purchase of F-35 jets from the US, snubbing France’s Rafale fighters. But “today the subject is closed” and high-level diplomatic contacts have been resumed after a year of absence, Journès said in an interview published on Wednesday by newspapers of the Tamedia group.

Now, in a different geopolitical and economic context, “we have identified political dossiers on which we have an opportunity to come together”, he added. He cited the European Political Community initiative launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, and topics specific to border regions, such as teleworking, taxation and health.

A joint cooperation commission on health will also be created on December 15, Journès said. “Within this framework, we must reflect on the training of professionals and the care of patients on both sides of the border,” he told Tamedia. He cited high Swiss salaries for nurses relative to France. ”We are not able to reach this level of salary through subsidies,” the ambassador continued. “So we have to think about something else, and the best thing is to do it together.”

On the other hand, he does not see any change in Switzerland’s exclusion from the European Union’s Horizon research programme, following failed EU-Swiss talks on a framework deal. “The Europeans have been asking for the same things for ten years. We will not go any further without solving these problems,” Journès said.

In 2021 Switzerland unilaterally broke off negotiations on a framework deal to replace some 120 bilateral accords which have regulated its relations with the EU for the past decades. That led to a souring of relations between Bern and Brussels. Subsequent efforts to break the diplomatic deadlock have so far not succeeded.