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Several thousand people took to the streets in the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne on Saturday to protest the government's inaction on global warming. They responded to a call from a coalition of more than 100 associations and political parties, marching under the shared banner: "No 50-degree summers!"
People of all ages took part in the marches, carrying placards with slogans such as "No Planet B" and "We're cooked!", Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists noted. The largest turnout came in Lausanne, where organizers said at least 8,000 took part.
Back in 2024, the European Court of Human Rights had already ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to fight climate change, the first time an international court had ruled against a country on this issue.
"This is about telling our authorities that it's really the time to act," said one marcher in his 60s, Yves Froidevaux. "We can't just finance weapons and then not care about the rest of it; that's not on," he added.
"There's been a real lack of water this summer," said Vincent Fontannaz, a 47-year-old actor dressed up as a giant drop of water. "It's not just about swimming pools, it's most of all about agriculture, and for our survival in fact," he added.
Following Saturday's rallies, additional protests are planned in several Swiss cities in the coming weeks, running through Oct. 2.
Switzerland's summer heatwaves had already forced the shutdown of a nuclear power plant and driven Lake Zurich to record-low water levels.
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