The Federal Council decided on Wednesday to continue its efforts to liberalise retail opening hours across the country. The proposed law allows retailers to open from at least 6.00 to 20.00 during the week and from 06: 00 to 19.00 on Saturdays. This contentious decision is taken in the face of direct opposition from the […]
Cross-border car fines: lousy information
Last week’s front page story by Pamela Taylor on the risk of massive fines for cross-border driving with Swiss or EU-licensed vehicles has produced more vehement reader interest than any Le News story so far. It also appears that such problems are nothing new, but have been a relatively unknown fact of life for years. Furthermore, […]
Drivers beware of hefty fines when crossing Swiss borders
BERN A bizarre case has Swiss and foreigners alike scratching their heads. A hapless German pensioner recently visiting his daughter in Switzerland drove his son-in-law’s Swiss-registered car across the border to go to his daughter’s holiday home in Austria. Stopped at customs, and unable to provide appropriate documentation, Dieter Johann von der Heide was hit […]
Quick guide to Switzerland’s unique form of democracy
This video from Swissinfo.ch is an engaging beginners guide to how Switzerland’s unusual bottom-up democracy works.



