Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Geneva yesterday ahead of the G7 summit in nearby Evian, France, with police on high alert amid fears of a repeat of the violence seen at a similar summit in 2003.
The demonstrators gathered in a park along the beaches of Lake Geneva, waving banners with phrases such as “No to the G7 and all imperialist alliances!” and “Abort the G7”.
The two then drove past a besieged city that seemed to be getting ready for an invasion, with helicopters hovering in the sky, AFP reported.
They set off just after 3.30 pm (1330 GMT) under a blazing sun screaming slogans with a diversity of messages, supporting Palestinians, climate action, feminism and anti-capitalist activities.
Police predicted up to 7,000 demonstrators at the start of the procession but our correspondent estimated the number at close to 15,000 by 1630 GMT.
“I’m here because I’m not happy that this group of heads of state is meeting here to make decisions that affect all of us,” Michel, a 69-year-old Swiss retiree carrying a Palestinian flag, told our correspondent.
The alliance of some 200 groups, organisations and unions, called for a “internationalist response” to the policies championed by the leaders of the Group of Seven, who begin off their three-day annual meeting today.
Explosive Issues
The G7 summit will be among the first major international meetings since the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran in late February, shaking up the Middle East and ratcheting up tensions across the Atlantic.
The G7 is made up of the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, with invited leaders from numerous additional countries, including Brazil and India.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the event, is expected to arrive in Evian on Sunday evening, with other leaders arriving on Monday including US President Donald Trump.
The group is set to tackle a full agenda of potentially contentious issues, including efforts to end the conflict in Iran, with Trump’s claims of an imminent settlement cloaked in uncertainty.
Most of the leaders will fly into Geneva Airport before making the journey to Evian.
Geneva, about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the French resort town, is jittery.
The authorities are anxious to avoid a recurrence of the mayhem of 2003 when anti-G7 rioters wreaked millions of dollars worth of damage in the Swiss city.
The violence, looting and fights are long remembered, with small shops, supermarkets and university buildings, some of them far from the protest route, boarding up their façade and not taking any chances.
The main hospital has erected big tents in expectation of a rush of wounded.
Geneva police claimed yesterday afternoon they had seized a variety of goods from protestors ‘likely to be used as weapons’ including knives, axes, petrol canisters and powerful pyrotechnical devices.
A member of the “No to the G7” collective, Laure, 38, claimed “many people are avoiding the demonstration because of the fear created by authorities.”
But she claimed that the “amplified messages of anxiety and angst” did not reflect reality. “We have a truck that will blow bubbles for the kids; we have drums,” she said.
Behind the parade was a car with a large effigy of Donald Trump, crimson paint dripping from his eyes and mouth to represent blood, and a black cocktail glass in his hand with “Cuba” inscribed across it.
Heavily guarded now
Most of the throng appeared upbeat, but AFP photographers witnessed several groups of black-clad protestors wearing masks, including one that smashed past a barrier protecting a high-end apartment block.
Our reporters also observed a Tesla set on fire and daubed with the words “Eat the Rich”.
The Swiss authorities have allowed the march to make a long loop on the north side of the city, well away from the city centre and its fancy boutiques.
The No-G7 alliance has called off preparations for a counter-summit and demonstration Sunday in the French border town of Annemasse, citing limitations imposed by French authorities.
“It is scandalous that the freedom of people is so repressed in your country,” said Laure of the anti-G7 “No to the G7” collective.
Switzerland is sending up to 4,000 troops to help police forces, while France has said it will deploy nearly 16,000 police, gendarmes, troops, firefighters and border guards around Evian.
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