The two-day state visit by the French president Emmanual Macron ended yesterday with a visit to the French speaking region.
The visit has been hailed a success by the Swiss president Alain Berset. Macron tweeted his thanks for the welcome, calling the Swiss ‘cousins’.
Yesterday Macron visited the University of Lausanne and CERN. There were four arrests in Lausanne as some pro-Palestinian protestors broke through barriers.
While at CERN, he listened to a presentation for a proposed new particle accelerator which could cost EUR 25bn. France is a major partner in the project.
The Geneva cantonal president, Antionio Hodgers, also accompanied Macron. He says it was an opportunity to discuss Geneva’s relationship with neighbouring France. He called for greater cooperation on tackling some of the issues in this unique region.
Hodgers says that Paris must recognise the Greater Geneva region as a French metropolis which has its own peculiarities – which is already the case in Bern.