Around 20,000 people demonstrated against the G7 summit in Geneva this Sunday. While the majority of protesters remained peaceful, a minority gradually gained the upper hand, turning the end of the day into a tense confrontation with police. A report.
June 15, 2026, 04:32June 15, 2026, 05:04
Alessia Barbezat, Margaux Habert, Frédéric Nejad Toulami / watson.ch/fr
Actually, everything started well. On Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. there is a festive atmosphere in the Park de la Perle near Lake Geneva. Several thousand people came to the right bank of the lake to take part in the demonstration against the summit organized by the No-G7 coalition. Families showed up with their children, dogs and strollers. Palestinian flags fly over the crowd. Chants echo through the air, the atmosphere is exuberant and peaceful.
A demonstrator a few minutes before the start of the demonstration.Image: Watson
Just a few steps from La Libellule Nature Center, Julia Bürgin is putting the finishing touches on her purple wheelbarrow. As a member of the “Culture Locale” farm in Dardagny and the “Les Femmes de la Terre” association, she will be part of the women farmers’ block, which is positioned at the front of the demonstration. The tractor that usually accompanies feminist demonstrations remained on the farm.
«This is our work tool. This time we decided not to do it. With all the police presence, we didn’t really know what to expect.”
Nevertheless, she does not fear any riots. «I am an optimist. Every year the feminist strike takes place peacefully and in an atmosphere of goodwill. I hope it will be the same today.”
“It’s happy, it’s festive”
A little further on, Hiba and Laura, two Lausanne women found in the crowd, show the same mood. With glitter on their faces and T-shirts in support of Palestine, they took part in the feminist strike in Lausanne the day before.
«It’s happy, it’s festive, we dance. We want to defend our values, show our support for oppressed peoples and give strength for the struggles.”
However, some details in this scene stand out. At the back of the gathering, some demonstrators are already covering their faces with Palestinian scarves, black scarves or goggles. The two young women are not surprised by this. «You protect yourself. Some are registered and identified with the police. And tear gas is extremely painful.” However, they reject the possibility of riots. “These are not rioters. That is an extremely small minority. And on the other hand, the police presence is completely disproportionate. Friends of ours have already been checked at the train station.”
The feminist bloc at the front of the demonstration.Image: Watson
The demonstration starts moving at 3:15 p.m. Divided into blocks, the demonstration stretches over several hundred meters. At the top are feminists in a mixed composition, followed by families and people with reduced mobility, the Palestine bloc, a revolutionary bloc and a Kurdish bloc. The unions bring up the rear.
The atmosphere changes from one group to another. The harmless slogans are sometimes followed by hostile messages towards the police. This has so far been reserved, despite the large contingent deployed throughout the city.
The demonstration moves along Quai Wilson, surrounded by barriers. It is not possible to enter or exit. A woman of about sixty will experience this firsthand. Arriving too late, she rushes across the cobblestones in the hope of reaching the feminist block – in vain. The entrances are blocked. She has to go back to Rue des Alpes to join the demonstration.
The mood changes
It is precisely in this section that the mood begins to change. Shop windows at the Banque du Léman are broken. A few meters away, a Tesla is set on fire on Place Dorcière. Further up, on Rue de la Servette, a Raiffeisen bank branch was also damaged. The police, who had remained in the background until then, monitored the situation without intervening. But tensions continue to rise.
Protesters set a Tesla on fire.Watson
At the corner of Rue Antoine-Carteret and Rue du Grand-Pré, fireworks are fired towards emergency services securing the area. The reaction doesn’t take long to arrive. The first tear gas grenades are used.
The confrontation continues on Avenue de France. Demonstrators throw objects towards the police. This responds with more tear gas grenades.
On Quai Wilson.Image: Watson
A group of the Black Bloc – according to the police around 600 people – apparently wanted to clash with the emergency services rather than continue the march. Both sides face each other for several minutes.
The confrontation with the police
The tension reaches its peak around 7 p.m. Back in the Parc de la Perle du Lac, the emergency services made several loudspeaker announcements calling for the meeting to be broken up.
«This is the police speaking. Go ahead. Don’t stay in the park.”
Some in the crowd react with boos. Others point out that there are still children there. A family tries to escape with their crying children. “Be careful, they will attack!” warn several demonstrators.
A few moments later, the park filled with tear gas. The air quickly becomes unbreathable. The eyes turn red. Coughing attacks become more frequent. Some protesters pull out small bottles of saline solution and rub them into their eyes. Others rinse their faces with water.
End of the approved demonstration
At 7 p.m. the police announced the end of the approved demonstration. She tries to surround part of the crowd in the park. However, the measure fails. Instead, police forces find themselves surrounded and forced to retreat amid boos and insults. “And the police, they are assholes,” chanted several demonstrators.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
As the arguments continue, Quentin Mayerat, parliamentary assistant to the Green National Councilor Rudi Berli, who happens to be there, speaks out. He regrets the development of events.
“This spoils the message of those who demonstrate peacefully. I tried to talk to the Black Bloc to calm things down. A small minority has come to fight. That doesn’t represent the dynamics of the demonstration.”
Quentin Mayerat
However, he is of the opinion that the police intervention remained proportionate. “The emergency services acted appropriately given the attacks they were subjected to.”
On the Quai Wilson the tension rises even further. Several groups continue to face the emergency services. Some arm themselves with anything they can get their hands on. An encirclement seems to be brewing.
The rioters set fire to a bicycle.Image: Watson
Only a few dozen meters away, other participants are still enjoying the last rays of sunshine. They sit on the grass or on the walls along the lake and talk quietly, as if the clashes were taking place in another city. Between these two scenes, a fire was lit on the sidewalk, water cannons were used and police fired rubber bullets.
Several members of the NoG7 coalition’s self-protection team, recognizable by their neon yellow high-visibility vests, ask the participants to leave the place via Rue Chateaubriand while the emergency services advance at a run.
A protester says while watching the clashes from a distance:
“As always, it’s men who cause trouble.”
Little by little the crowd disperses. The last groups leave the Parc de la Perle du Lac under the eyes of the police.
Sitting on a bench, two young people watch the demonstrators leave. «They did it, brother. They drove us all apart. What’s the game tonight?”
Demonstrators are surrounded just a few meters away. “Around 300 people are still trapped in front of the Palais Wilson, including minors, organizers and members of the self-protection service,” explains Davide De Filippo from the trade union umbrella organization in the canton of Geneva (CGAS) at midnight. The police want to check their identities one by one before letting them go.
The trade unionist continues:
“People are calm, they just want to go home. They are hungry, they are thirsty and they are starting to freeze. What is happening here no longer has anything to do with public safety: it is a collective punishment.”
It was a long night in Geneva for both the police and the demonstrators.