Geneva and Zurich airports both have pre-Christmas passenger numbers close to pre-pandemic levels, reported RTS. On Friday 23 December 2022, more than 55,000 passengers passed through Geneva airport (Cointrin), roughly 3,000 more than the day before. According to airport management, this level is close to the numbers in 2019 before Covid-19 arrived. The highest daily […]
Geneva’s strict rules boost sales of most polluting air conditioners
Rules restricting the installation of air conditioning in Geneva have led to a rise in the purchase of inefficient mobile air conditioning units. Installing air conditioning in Switzerland is often subject to rules set at the cantonal level. Geneva is the strictest canton. To qualify, a home owner must prove they have a legitimate need, […]
Geneva terraces to close at midnight from 1 June
Outdoor diners and drinkers in Geneva will soon need to move inside at midnight under new rules aimed at cutting nighttime noise in the city, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. The rule, to be introduced on 1 June 2022, will apply from Sunday until Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays outdoor dining and drinking will be […]
Homelessness much higher in French-speaking Switzerland, shows study
According to a study by the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) undertaken between 2020 and 2022, there are large differences in homelessness between French-speaking Switzerland and the rest of the country. The study, which researched homelessness across Switzerland’s eight largest cities (Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Luzern, Lugano, St. Gallen and Zurich), identified […]
Half of French households near Swiss border work in Switzerland
Recently published statistics show that more than half of the residents in certain parts of France were employed in Switzerland in 2018. The data, published by INSEE, a French statistics agency, found that more than half of households in the communes du Genevois, Pays de Gex and Annemasse-Les Voirons, all regions bordering Switzerland, contained family […]
Lights out – Geneva to cut lights to save electricity
This week, the government of the canton of Geneva changed a law to require non residential buildings, with some exceptions, to switch off their lights at night between 1am and 6am. Thursday’s parliamentary vote in favour of the move is expected to cut the canton’s electricity consumption by at least 1%. During parts of winter, […]
Trains running again between Lausanne and Geneva after 3-day outage
On Tuesday, trains services between Geneva and Lausanne were halted after the ground near part of the rail network collapsed in Tolochenaz near Morges. Trains started operating between the two cities early on Friday morning after a 3-day hiatus. From 5 am on Friday trains started running but were required to slow to 20 km/h […]
Covid: Geneva minister wants unvaccinated to pay for hospital
On 20 August 2021, Mauro Poggia, Geneva’s health minister, recommended unvaccinated people cover part of their own hospitalisation costs and lost earnings compensation should they end up in hospital or be unable to work after catching the virus, reported 20 Minutes. Solidarity towards the unvaccinated has its limits, said Poggia, while pointing out that 90% […]
Geneva to host June meeting of Biden and Putin
On 25 May 2021, the White House confirmed that presidents Biden and Putin are to meet in Geneva on 16 June 2021. The meeting comes at a time of tension between the United States and Russia. President Biden has criticised the detention of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader, Russia’s agression towards Ukraine and interference […]
Covid: no systematic checks at Swiss-French borders
According to a report on RTS radio on 1 February 2021, French border staff are not systematically checking people entering France by road or rail from Switzerland. On Friday, 29 January 2021, the French government announced it was closing its borders from Sunday to all those outside the EU or Switzerland. In addition, except for […]
