Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The spectre of the G8 protests in 2003 still hangs over Geneva. They left a bitter legacy: a barricaded city, smashed shopfronts, overwhelmed officials and tens of millions of francs in damage.
Two decades on, authorities are determined to avoid a repeat as the G7 convenes in nearby Évian, France, in June. Even the Swiss justice system is stepping up: the Office of the Attorney General of canton Geneva is planning special measures.
Enjoy today's briefing,
Political authorities, police and activists are not the only ones preparing for the G7 summit (June 15–17). The justice system is also bracing: Geneva prosecutors plan to double – or even triple – staff to handle a surge in arrests.
“As public prosecutor, I must prepare for the worst-case scenario – and all the better if it doesn’t happen,” Attorney General Olivier Jornot told Le Temps. Up to six prosecutors could be on duty daily.
Speed will be key. During the 2003 summit, a long-wanted rioter had to be released because paperwork could not be processed in time. To avoid such failures, the prosecutor’s office will operate across multiple sites and scale back routine hearings.
Jornot outlined two security fronts: federal authorities will handle threats such as terrorism or attacks on heads of state, while Geneva prosecutors will deal with demonstrations, violence and damage on the sidelines.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) is fully playing its role,” Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said at the opening of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, calling the agency “irreplaceable” despite mounting challenges.
The minister praised its leadership in responding to hantavirus and Ebola. She also noted that the institution must now operate with a reduction of nearly one billion dollars in its budget and some 1,300 job cuts due to its financial situation.
Member states have still not reached consensus on the annex to the historic pandemic agreement secured in 2025. This annex must regulate the pathogen-sharing system. Switzerland is calling for “realistic”, “functional” solutions with a “clear mandate”, Baume-Schneider explained.
This World Health Assembly opens as hantavirus, whose threat to global public health remains low, is reviving fears among the population. The WHO has also declared that the new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
A 93-year-old Chinese national with dementia must leave Switzerland. A Bernese court refused to grant her a residence permit even though she is closely cared for by her daughter, who holds a Swiss passport.
The nonagenarian, who arrived in Switzerland in 2021 with a visa, has one month to leave Switzerland. Her daughter, who had joined her parents in China three years earlier to care for her sick father, brought her to her home in Bern after her father’s death.
When the visa expired, the widow applied for a residence permit. However, cantonal authorities rejected the application and ordered her removal. The family contested this decision up to the highest cantonal authority, citing the mother’s health condition – very elderly, suffering from dementia and entirely dependent on her daughter emotionally and psychologically.
The Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern ultimately ruled that this dependency was not sufficiently established. It also judged that care would be possible in her hometown of Nanjing. The judges also dismissed the argument that returning to China would lead to premature death.
The turmoil caused around the world by the launch of Swatch’s new “Royal Pop” watch, the result of a collaboration with Audemars Piguet, is attracting international media attention. Some media outlets report scenes of chaos outside stores, while others analyse the scarcity strategy deployed by the brand.
“It was like a mosh pit,” John McIntosh told The Guardian. He had been queuing in New York since Wednesday to get his hands on the watch, which went on sale in stores on Saturday, with the intention of reselling it at a high markup. As in Paris, Singapore, London and Milan, scuffles broke out when the shops opened, leading to the closure of several Swatch outlets.
On Saturday evening, the watchmaker issued a call for calm on its social media channels. “In order to ensure the safety of our customers and employees in Swatch Stores, we ask you not to rush in large numbers to our stores,” the post stated.
However, some people have criticised the scarcity strategy orchestrated by Swatch. “You know exactly how many watches each shop has in stock, so why let the queues grow?” one internet user complained. The French newspaper Libération described it as “a hackneyed strategy”: “organising scarcity to create desire and a parallel market that ultimately enhances the brand’s value”.
Translated using AI/sb
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