Geneva
Riots at anti-SVP demo – police use tear gas
An unauthorized demo will take place in Geneva on Saturday afternoon while the delegates of SVP Switzerland have gathered in Meyrin.
published
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The delegates of SVP Switzerland have gathered in Meyrin.
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Hundreds of people met in Geneva to protest.
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Demonstrators attacked the police and also journalists.
There will be protests against the delegates’ meeting of SVP Switzerland in Meyrin on Saturday afternoon. Videos show that hundreds of opponents met in the Parc des Cropettes in Geneva to denounce the right-wing party’s policies. Since no permit had been requested for the demonstration, the police were on site with a large contingent.
The demo train started moving around 3:30 p.m. Several hundred people took part. After moving towards the train station, the marchers turned onto rue Fort-Barreau and attempted to enter the Les Grottes district, but were prevented by police cordons.
There were clashes with the security forces. Demonstrators threw cans at officers, who hit back with tear gas and rubber bullets. The demonstrators then withdrew to the Parc des Cropettes. A reporter tells 20 minutes how he saw people washing their eyes because of the tear gas. Meanwhile, others set fire to containers. “It was short and intense,” says the reporter.
“When the Black Block came into the park, journalists who were a little closer were attacked,” the reporter continues. “Some had their cell phones knocked out of their hands.”
A group on social media had called for the demo under the motto “The whole world hates the SVP”. The protest was accompanied by the feminist strike movement and the left-wing party SolidaritéS, as reported by the “Tribune de Genève”.
Around 5 p.m., many of the demonstrators unmasked and began walking to the train station. “The police are there, but they don’t stop people. She simply lets the demonstrators pull away. There were two arrests just a little further away, »reports the reporter.
At their meeting in Meyrin, the delegates of SVP Switzerland primarily dealt with the energy crisis and the electricity guzzler law, which the population will vote on on June 18, 2023. They unanimously said NO to the electricity guzzler law.
With 112 votes to two, with six abstentions, the delegates voted YES to the second proposal, the federal decree on special taxation for large corporate groups.
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