Geneva: 20,000 March Against G7, Police Broke Up the Rally by Evening
600 Black Bloc, feminist strike, anti-globalists. Smashed storefronts, burning Tesla at the UN. Street video inside.
While G7 leaders gathered in Evian, Geneva staged a counter-summit in the streets.
On June 14, a mass demonstration against the “Group of Seven” summit rolled through the city. According to Geneva police, around 20,000 people joined the march - anti-globalists, environmentalists, feminists (the rally coincided with Switzerland’s annual women’s strike). Police separately counted roughly 600 anarchists from Black Bloc.
Start - 4:00 PM from Parc Mon Repos, march across the right bank to Place des Nations - the UN district. At first things stayed relatively calm. By evening authorities ended the demonstration and ordered participants to disperse.
What went wrong:
- near the UN building, bottles, stones, firecrackers and flares flew
- bank and UN agency storefronts smashed
- Tesla set on fire in a parking lot
- police responded with tear gas and water cannons
The protest moved to Geneva because France denied permits for rallies near the G7 venue in Evian. The No G7 coalition had warned in advance: up to 50,000 could take to the streets. Shops downtown boarded up windows with plywood - and for good reason.
Context: summit June 16-17, guests include Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, talks on Iran, Ukraine, trade. In the streets - people against capitalism, inequality and “decisions behind closed doors.”
Witnesses filmed clashes in real time. One video from Geneva streets:
Authorities remind: the march was sanctioned, but violence was not. Activists say the system ignores peaceful protest, so escalation is inevitable. Police say Black Bloc used the crowd as cover.
Geneva woke up smelling of gas and burnt metal near the UN. G7 had just begun - and the streets already showed not everyone agrees with the agenda at the lakeside hotel.