Covid-19: the Swiss go from one canton to another to do their shopping
Audio 01:17
Pedestrians in downtown Geneva, November 2, 2020, before the new containment measures to deal with the coronavirus epidemic.
REUTERS / Denis Balibouse
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
Close shops to flatten the contaminations curve or reopen them to let the economy breathe, the debate does not take place only in France.
In Switzerland too, some would like to be able to reopen a store.
Particularly in Geneva where local authorities have closed non-essential businesses.
With the difference that the Swiss are not limited in their movements.
The result: sales up 30% for several brands in the neighboring canton of Vaud.
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With our correspondent in Geneva,
Jérémie Lanche
Chavanne de Bogis, 1,200 inhabitants, a breathtaking view of Lake Geneva and an ideally placed shopping center, 10 minutes by car from Geneva.
The parking lot is also full of cars registered in the canton.
Larissa came, she said, to decompress: “
It's really for morale.
It's to breathe.
Philippe is more direct.
He is there to buy what he can no longer find in Geneva: “
It's not fair, but we have to live too.
So there we are told to close the stores in Geneva.
Well, ok, there is no problem, well we come here.
We are forced on one side, but we also want a certain freedom.
"
►
Read also: Switzerland: the hospital system under water because of the second wave of Covid-19
The shopping center also attracts French customers.
Customs with the department of Ain is only a few hectometers away.
Most traders admit an increase in their turnover.
But almost as much seems to regret it, like Léa, a saleswoman in a clothing store because when we ask her if this situation is "any benefit" for her, she answers: "
Yes and no, because confinement is not used for nothing.
It brings us back customers, but suddenly no interest in confinement in Geneva.
"
The
epidemiological situation
is indeed worrying, as much in the canton of Geneva as in that of Vaud, with incidence rates among the highest in Europe.
But in Switzerland, it is the cantons that largely decide on the measures to be applied.
For the moment, Vaud businesses therefore remain open, those in Geneva should not reopen before November 29.
►
See also: Covid-19: faced with the explosion of cases, Switzerland is making its army available to the cantons
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