Anti-racism marches mobilise thousands across Switzerland
This content was published on
1 minute
Black Lives Matter protests mobilised thousands of people across several Swiss cities on Saturday. In Bern, the capital, an unauthorised rally drew some 4,000 people, most of them wearing masks and black attire.
Another 10,000 marched In financial hub Zurich. Demonstrators there also donned black clothes and carried banners that read “white silence is violence.” Police initially tried to dissuade them from marching on account of public health restrictions in place to counter the coronavirus pandemic. The march could finally go through on condition that it stayed peaceful, which it did, according to a Keystone-SDA reporter at the scene.
In the northeastern city of St. Gallen, more than a thousand people came together under the banner “Black Lives Matter”. Police there said the demonstration unfolded without incident. A similar gathering took place in Lucerne.
Switzerland has capped public gatherings at a maximum of 300 people due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the second weekend in a row that Swiss streets fill with people outraged by the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police in the United States on May 26.
More than 10,000 people took part in an anti-racism rally held in Geneva on Tuesday, which was organised to coincide with Floyd’s funeral. The fatal incident in the United States has triggered soul-searching on questions of racism and police conduct at home and abroad.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
What Trump’s return or a new Harris administration would mean for Switzerland
Direct trains to run from Zurich to Florence and Livorno
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia will offer direct trains from Zurich to Florence and Livorno and vice versa from 2026.
Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit
This content was published on
The Swiss armed forces had an effective headcount of around 147,000 as of March 1, 2024. This exceeds the upper limit of 140,000 specified in the army organisation by 5%.
More than 400,000 cross-border commuters now work in Switzerland
This content was published on
More than half of all cross-border commuters were resident in France (around 57%). Large proportions also lived in Italy (23%) and Germany (around 16%).
Amherd and von der Leyen discuss ongoing Swiss-EU negotiations
This content was published on
Swiss President Viola Amherd and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have met and talked about the ongoing negotiations between Bern and Brussels.
This content was published on
One million francs, 34 million euros and around 830 kilos of gold: this is the fortune that two Swiss nationals are accused of having moved across borders for at least four years.
Girls in female-dominated classes earn more later on
This content was published on
At the age of 30, women from school classes with a 55% share of girls earn $350 more per year than women from classes with a 45% share of girls.
This content was published on
Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a downturn in performance for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year. Both sales and profit declined.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Is racism a problem in Switzerland? A look at the latest numbers
This content was published on
When it comes to racial discrimination, the situation in Switzerland is hardly comparable to that of the United States. But some issues persist.
Switzerland joins debate about removing controversial memorials
This content was published on
Global anti-racism protests after the death of George Floyd have reignited the debate about contentious monuments in the US and Europe.
This content was published on
“Italians go back to Italy” was the slogan used in an initiative 50 years ago. Why does the fear of non-Swiss keep coming back?
This content was published on
As Unesco marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, history professor Hans Fässler told swissinfo it was time Switzerland faced up to its past. Being a landlocked country did not stop Switzerland from playing its part in the transatlantic slave trade triangle, linking West Africa, America and Europe…
Swiss torture rapporteur denounces US ‘racial terror’
This content was published on
The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, has called for independent investigations into excessive force used by police against Afro-Americans.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.