How some Swiss struggle to integrate in Switzerland

Internal migration across Switzerland’s linguistic borders sometimes tests local integration. In the canton of Fribourg, growing numbers of French-speakers are settling in German-speaking municipalities, drawn by cheaper housing and proximity to the canton’s capital. The shift is quietly reshaping local administration, schools and civic life, reports SRF.

In villages such as Giffers and Tentlingen, construction has boomed in recent years. Many newcomers come from the French-speaking part of the canton. Municipal offices have adapted pragmatically: in Tentlingen, around half of staff speak French. Requests for documents in French are increasingly common, though the authorities insist the commune remains German-speaking. Confusion sometimes follows, including misplaced expectations about the language of schooling—it’s German not French.

Schools feel the strain most acutely. The local primary school has sharply expanded German-as-a-second-language provision over the past decade. Some pupils arrive with little or no German. Intensive language instruction is costly but seen as essential to integrate children quickly into mainstream classes.

Elsewhere, the social effects are subtler. In Gals, in the canton of Bern, French-speakers make up nearly half the population. Yet they are largely absent from town meetings, which remain dominated by German-speakers. Local officials play down the significance, suggesting newcomers are unfamiliar with such civic gatherings.

Still, concerns about parallel lives persist in Gals. Some French-speakers continue to orient their social and cultural activities towards nearby Neuchâtel, rather than the villages where they live. Community leaders argue that integration takes time.

If social incentives prove insufficient, economic ones may help. According to a study by the University of Geneva, French-speakers who also speak German earn on average 10–20% more than those who do not. In a country where language remains closely tied to opportunity, the market may yet succeed where community spirit lags.

More on this:
SRF article (in German)

For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.