Anti-WEF demo held in Zurich

Anti-WEF protestors set of fireworks as they marched in Zurich on Tuesday evening, accompanied by a large police presence. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Around 400 people took part in a demonstration in Zurich against the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is currently holding its annual summit in Davos.

Protestors set off fireworks as they marched through the city on Tuesday evening, accompanied by large numbers of police. No major damage was reported during the unauthorised event.

Zurich police said they managed to prevent the protesters from marching through the city centre. After about an hour, the protesters returned to Helvetiaplatz, a square near the lake where the demo had started. They dispersed around 8pm.

Last weekend, a day ahead of the opening of the WEF annual meeting, which takes place from January 16-20, around 300 people took to the streets of Davos demanding climate justice.

Under the slogan “Tax the Rich, save the Climate”, some demonstrators from the Swiss Socialist Youth (JUSO) and the association Strike WEF gathered in the Swiss mountain resort to demand a climate tax on the super-rich attending the WEF summit. They were joined by activists from Greenpeace and from the German town of Lützerath, which has become a climate flashpoint amid plans to expand a coal mine in the area.

The demonstration in Davos was the end of a two-day winter walk for climate justice organised by Strike WEF that started in the village of Küblis, about 23 kilometres by foot from Davos.

More than 370 public figures, including 52 heads of state and 60 CEOs from around the world are attending the WEF meeting.