Swiss police surround violent rioters amid anti-G7 protest in Geneva

Swiss police on Sunday evening surrounded a group of several hundred suspected violent protesters following clashes that marred a largely peaceful demonstration against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit in France.

Authorities were checking the identities of those contained and some could face arrest and prosecution, Laurent Paoliello, a spokesman for local authorities, told Swiss broadcaster RTS.

Paoliello said property damage was limited and praised the police operation. No injuries were reported.

Thousands of demonstrators had gathered in Geneva to protest against the G7 summit, which is due to begin on Monday in the French lakeside town of Évian, across the border from Switzerland.

The peaceful march was overshadowed by a hard core of masked protesters who tore up paving stones and smashed several shop windows. Police responded with tear gas and later deployed water cannon to disperse the unrest.

Police estimate 20,000 protesters

Police estimated that around 20,000 people took part in the demonstration, while organizers put attendance at 60,000. Around 7,000 security personnel were deployed.

The masked protesters also set a car and rubbish bins on fire, and smashed numerous windows – of shops, bus stops, advertising hoardings and the entrances of UN organizations.

Police kept a low profile for much of the day, but away from the approved march route they cordoned off the main bridge over the Rhône leading to the main shopping streets and, elsewhere, the United Nations headquarters in the Swiss border city just along the shores of Lake Geneva from the G7 summit venue.

Police said on Facebook that they had confiscated several objects that appeared to have been intended for use in confrontations with officers.

According to its manifesto, the No G7 coalition of 60 organizations demonstrated against US military bases in Europe and in favour of higher minimum wages, free contraception, unrestricted freedom of movement for workers from around the world and the removal of gender from all identity documents.

Protesters call G7 ‘illegitimate and outdated institution’

The coalition described the G7 as an “illegitimate and outdated institution, a private club that no longer reflects today’s world,” where “major powers make decisions in favour of the most privileged minority in the world and to the detriment of more than 90% of the population.”

The summit of G7 leaders from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Japan and the US begins Monday. France was unwilling to allow protests near the summit zone, according to the Geneva city government. Organizers therefore registered the demonstration in Geneva, which lies around 50 kilometres away.

The vast majority of demonstrators remained peaceful. Music boomed from large speakers during the march and, apart from the apparently violence-prone black bloc, participants danced in bright sunshine and good spirits.

Geneva had braced for unrest, recalling the devastating damage and looting that accompanied a 2003 demonstration against what was then the G8, which still included Russia. Hundreds of shopkeepers and hoteliers had boarded up their windows and entrances with plywood.

Security reinforcements brought in from across the country

The events of 2003 were a trauma for Geneva police, said the region’s police chief, Monica Bonfanti. At the time, only a few dozen officers were on duty and were completely overwhelmed by the violence.

This time, reinforcements were brought in from across the country. Several thousand officers have been checking vehicles and the identity papers of passers-by throughout the city for two days.

The task of Swiss security forces extended beyond managing the demonstration. They also had to guarantee the safety of arriving G7 leaders. Geneva’s airport is the closest to Évian, with most delegations expected to arrive there on Monday.

Geneva sits like an enclave within French territory. The Swiss have closed around 30 of the border crossings, leaving just seven open, and began carrying out identity checks in the city on Friday.