Thousands of vintage 2CVs roll into small Swiss town

One of the participants arriving at the gathering on Tuesday. © Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

An international gathering of Citroën 2CV cars has begun in the village of Courroux in western Switzerland. Organisers expect up to 6,000 of the iconic vehicles to arrive over the next six days.

The World Meeting of 2CV Friends is the biggest event ever organised in canton Jura, the canton’s tourism director Guillaume Lachat said on Tuesday.

An area of some 53 hectares – the equivalent of around 75 football pitches – has been made available for the cult cars and their fans.

The Keystone-SDA news agency reported that long queues had already formed at the event campsite on Tuesday morning. Some 2CVs travelled from Australia or the French Antilles island of Martinique, the agency said.

+ A visit to “the Art Basel for classic car fans”

The all-purpose vehicle was built by French company Citroën from 1949-1990. It became a cult car during the hippie movement, and was also accessible to poorer classes.

Some 3.9 million four-door sedan models were sold, as well as 1.2 million “Fourgonette” van models. Since going out of production, the 2CV has become a collector’s item.

The World Meeting of 2CV Friends has been held 24 times since 1975; this year marks the third edition in Switzerland, after Avenches, canton Vaud (1977) and Haslital, canton Bern (1990).