Several hundred people join anti-WEF protests in Switzerland

The rally in Bern, which cut through the city centre, was unauthorised and drew several hundred protesters, Keystone-SDA reported. Keystone / Anthony Anex

Several hundred opponents of the World Economic Forum (WEF) gathered in canton Graubünden and in the capital Bern on Saturday to take aim in particular at the high-profile guests of the annual meeting.

At an unauthorised rally in Bern, several hundred protesters marched through the city centre in the afternoon, the Keystone-SDA news agency reported. The police wrote on X that there had been damage to property.

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The WEF in Davos, which begins on Monday, symbolises capitalism with its climate crisis, wars, economic crises, discrimination and oppression, said the call for the demonstration by two far-left groups: the revolutionary youth of Bern (Berns Revolutionäre Jugend) and NO WEF. Participants of the forum end up discussing crises that they themselves caused, the groups argued.

After just over an hour, the police called on the marching protesters to break up the demonstration. They complied with the call.

Protest march to Davos

Earlier in the day, around 350 WEF and capitalism critics set off from Küblis, in canton Graubünden, on a two-day protest hike to Davos, 25 kilometres away. The mostly young opponents of capitalism hailed mainly from Switzerland and Germany, according to Keystone-SDA. However, demonstrators from Belgium, Portugal, England and even Peru also found their way to the wintry Prättigau.

+ Swiss army to ensure security at WEF

“We are criticising the elites who presume to speak for the people while millions of people are already dying from climate change,” a spokesperson for the Strike WEF collective told Keystone-SDA. The basic aim of Strike WEF is to criticise capitalism. In recent years, the demand for climate justice has also been a central theme.

Starting Monday in Davos, over 3,000 people, including top politicians, business leaders and representatives of social organisations and the media, are set to discuss global challenges over five days of the WEF annual meeting.

Adapted from German by DeepL/gw

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