Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
While the streets of Bern have emptied for the summer, some destinations are struggling to breathe. In Majorca, the local population is protesting against mass tourism – a reality that several Swiss Abroad are observing closely.
For others, this season offers a fragile interlude: Igor, a Ukrainian soldier, has crossed Europe to spend ten days with his wife and son, who are refugees in Switzerland.
“There are simply too many tourists here.” Swiss residents of Majorca are slamming the harmful effects of overtourism. They say they understand the islanders who have been protesting since June, calling on the authorities to take action.
“I understand that Majorcans have had enough of this road chaos,” Werner Bieinisowitsch told Tamedia’s German-language newspapers. “When it’s cloudy, thousands of tourists decide to leave the beach to visit Palma,” says the 80-year-old from Zurich, who has lived in the island’s capital for 19 years. “It’s all blocked up! It’s a complete breakdown,” he says.
“You are responsible for our misery,” wrote local activists on the Ministry of Tourism building in Palma. The people taking to the streets are above all calling on the authorities to take steps to combat the housing shortage caused by mass tourism.
“Pick up your rubbish after a visit to the beach,” Michèle Lohmer, president of the Swiss Balearic Club, tells holidaymakers. She doesn’t want tourists to be banned from the island but would like them to show more respect. She still feels welcome on Majorca, but she stresses the need to make an effort to integrate.
Igor, a Ukrainian soldier fighting on the Ukrainian front, was able to spend ten days with his wife and son, who have taken refuge in Switzerland. The family told Swiss public broadcaster, RTS, how they are coping with the separation and the war.
“I called my wife Luda and told her: ‘I can only come now. After that, it might not be possible’,” says Igor. Getting this leave was not easy. After obtaining permission, he had to prove that his family lived in Switzerland. He also hoped to be able to come later in the season, during the school holidays.
After a journey of almost 60 hours by bus and train, Igor arrived in Neuchâtel in the early hours of June 28. His son, Tymur, had not been given any advance notice to avoid disappointing him in the event of a last-minute change. “He was friendly with me, he watched me carefully, and I felt we were reconnecting. The most important thing for me was to see how my son was growing up,” he says.
Luda confesses to feeling she leads two parallel lives: one physically, in Switzerland, and the other mentally on the Ukrainian front. She explains that she never knows whether she will see her husband alive again. As for Igor, he avoids thinking about it. “In my opinion, thinking about death doesn’t help me do my job properly. And it would be hard on my family if I were afraid or if I were experiencing too strong emotions.”
Switzerland is the most innovative country in Europe, according to an analysis by the European Commission. However, its score was slightly lower than last year.
For the eighth year running, Switzerland has come top of the European Commission’s Innovation Scoreboard, published yesterday. Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK are also in the top five. Globally, South Korea is the most innovative country.
However, this year Switzerland has lost some of its innovative strength compared with last year, scoring lower in the index. This is due in particular to the decline in the indicator for design applications. But there was a positive trend in high-speed internet access. In addition, Switzerland has the most attractive research system in Europe.
The European Commission has also published its regional rankings. Two Swiss regions stand out: the Zurich conurbation is ranked fourth and Ticino sixth, thanks in particular to a very high proportion of international scientific co-publications per million inhabitants.
More than 460,000 spectators, two weeks of competition and no notable incidents. The host cities have drawn up a positive interim balance for Euro 2025, the women’s football tournament taking place in Switzerland until July 27.
“It’s been a great and enjoyable festival of football. I’d like to see the same for men’s football,” Basel police spokesman Stefan Schmitt told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS. The cantonal police forces haven’t experienced any security problems in or around the stadiums hosting the Euro matches.
This peaceful atmosphere is also having an impact on the number of police officers, according to the Zurich police. Compared to a national match featuring men, the number of officers is significantly lower. However, the police are not giving precise figures.
Translated from French by DeepL/ts
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