Swiss municipality to vote on banning adverts in streets

Bling on the landscape? Voters in Geneva will be able to have their say on adverts like this © Keystone / Christian Beutler

The inhabitants of Vernier, a municipality in Geneva, are set to have their say on banning advertising billboards.

A referendum launched against a new law banning this form of communication has collected 2,300 signatures, the co-chairman of the referendum committee, said on Monday. A total of 1,921 valid signatures had been required.

Last month the local administrative council decided to ban billboards and other forms of street advertising, arguing that this improves the quality of the landscape.

However, the referendum committee, made up of parties on the political right, believes it is a serious infringement of the freedom of trade. The banning of billboards in Vernier would seriously harm many local businesses by creating a situation of unfair competition, it claims.

Citizens in the City of Geneva will also soon be asked to vote on similar ban on advertising in public spaces. A referendum launched by the political right against the law implementing the communal popular initiative “Genève zéro pub, libérons nos rues de la publicité commerciale” (Geneva – zero ads, let’s free our streets from commercial advertising) has collected the necessary signatures.