Tribune de Genève Emboldened by Uber’s set backs in France, enraged taxi drivers blocked the centre of Geneva on Monday afternoon blocking traffic as far as the airport. The protest started at 4pm and by 6:30pm TGP, Geneva’s public transport operator announced a 50 minutes delay on one of central Geneva’s tram lines. Geneva’s taxi […]
How Voltaire ended up in the town of Ferney-Voltaire
In 1755 the French writer, philosopher and playwright, François-Marie Arouet, known to most by his nom de plume Voltaire, was on the run from an angry Frederick the Great, the Prussian King, who he’d offended with some of his writing. He first headed to Paris only to find that King Louis XV of France had […]
Hopes dashed for French residents living under the noise of Geneva airport
Tribune de Genève. Neighbouring residents of the French communes of Chens-sur-Léman, Messery and Nernier had their pleas for aircraft noise reduction rejected by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Resident groups have been fighting for years to have the landing flight path into Geneva airport moved so it is over the lake instead of above their homes. […]
The United Nations is too old and afraid to solve the world’s problems
The United Nations (UN) will turn 70 in October 2015. It has surely delivered enormously to humanity since it began in 1915. However, is it well positioned to take on the world’s current and future challenges? In an article published on 12 May 2015, Ian Richards, President of the Coordination Committee of International Staff Unions […]
Swiss German response to Geneva: “We like you but there’s no need to come.”
This year, 200-years after Geneva joined the Swiss confederation, the Fondation pour Genève decided that Geneva should try to seduce the rest of Switzerland. To do this it created a mission called “Geneva meets Switzerland”. Then it created a bus. A large articulated bus, colourfully decorated by Zep1, the creator of Titeuf, a cheeky cartoon […]
CERN gets its own Accident and Emergency
On 4 May 2015, the Geneva University Hospital (HUG) and CERN opened an Accident and Emergency centre at CERN in Meyrin, Geneva. The centre is managed by HUG which is supplying all of the staff. CERN welcomes around 9,000 people every year and this centre will be better placed to help them when urgent medical […]
France to boost Geneva International
While the Swiss government often fails to recognize the crucial importance of its international community, particularly in the Lake Geneva region, the French view it differently. The Lake Geneva area, which includes both Swiss and French territory, is being increasingly treated by France’s neighbouring Rhone-Alpes Region as a key priority. Swiss journalist and writer Daniel […]
New law could lift Uber’s Geneva prospects
Uber’s efforts to shake up Geneva’s expensive and uncompetitive taxi market could be bearing fruit. After the canton of Geneva announced that all rides in the canton arranged via Uber were illegal, Uber responded by launching an online petition calling for the liberalization of Geneva’s taxi market. The petition has now collected 14,800 signatures and […]
Relocation threatens jobs at the UN in Geneva
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, Ian Richards, the British economist who represents United Nations (UN) and UN agency staff in Geneva, speaks out about plans to relocate its employees around the globe. Ban Ki-moon the United Nations’ secretary general favours greater staff mobility and centralisation of administrative tasks via a new […]
Is Lausanne beating Geneva?
A Tale of Two Cities “Lausanne is the capital of Suisse Romande and Geneva is Geneva,” a canny observer recently remarked. The distinction is important. Geneva may be wealthier and have a greater international reputation, but Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth largest city population-wise, often seems more dynamic. The two cities have chosen very different strategies. Geneva […]
