G7 Summit in Evian Draws Massive Security Deployment Amid Protest Concerns

The G7 summit, bringing together leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan in the French lakeside town of Evian-les-Bains, has prompted an unprecedented joint security operation between France and Switzerland. France is deploying more than 13,000 police and gendarmerie officers plus over 800 border control agents — up from a normal complement of about 60 — while Switzerland is contributing around 4,000 military personnel to support cantonal police, with operations covering land, Lake Geneva, and airspace. Authorities cite a high terror threat in France, risks of sabotage and cyberattacks, and the specter of the 2003 G8 summit, when tens of thousands of protesters caused millions of dollars in damage in Geneva and Lausanne. The No G7 coalition, representing more than 60 organizations, has been authorized to hold a march in Geneva on June 14, though negotiations over the route were contentious; French authorities effectively blocked a planned counter-summit in the border town of Annemasse. Seven of 35 road border crossings will remain open, lake ferry routes have been rerouted, and a major Geneva park has been closed, with the disruption compared by one academic to pandemic-era border restrictions. Professor Cedric Dupont of the Geneva Graduate Institute criticized the measures as an overreaction that could create more problems than it solves, noting that determined protesters could still reach Geneva via other Swiss routes.