Is Europe’s wave of youth discontent spilling over into Switzerland?

Echoing the protest movements in France and across Europe, demonstrations turned violent this weekend in Zurich and Basel. The Swiss press are, however, divided over the social implications of the events in Switzerland and the parallels that can be drawn with neighbouring countries.

There was anger on the streets of Switzerland over the weekend. On Saturday evening – which coincided with Halloween celebrations – several hundred people gathered in Zurich and slightly fewer in Basel.

Both unauthorised demonstrations were marred by violence and acts of vandalism. The police responded with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Two young men were arrested. According to initial estimates reported by 20 MinutenExternal link, the damage in Zurich is believed to run into tens of thousands of francs.

“In both German-speaking cities, the protesters were drawing parallels with the youth protests in France and other European countries,” notes Le TempsExternal link. In recent weeks, protests – some of them violent – have taken place in several European countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Calls to ‘rise up in Switzerland’

When interviewed by RTSExternal link, the spokesperson for Zurich’s municipal police stated that the usual revellers on Langstrasse – a central hub of nightlife – had been joined by far-left activists and rioters.

“There were what are known as “riot tourists”, who, she said, had come with the aim of taking part in the demonstrations. “Before the events, there were numerous calls for mobilisation on social media, which were picked up by the media,” she added.

The Tamedia news group reported that far-left activists called for an uprising in Switzerland, echoing the theme of riots elsewhere under the slogan “The spirit of revolt is sweeping across Europe”.

A groundswell among left-wing youth

The Young Socialists, who are also calling for a national youth strike on November 20, sees common ground between the movements in different countries.

Switzerland is not immune, according to Thomas Bruchez. The Social Democrat politician and canton Geneva parliamentarian was interviewed on Swiss public television RTS’s ForumExternal link programme on Sunday.

“In Switzerland, we have plenty of reasons to be angry. We face the same situation in terms of austerity measures. Cuts are being made everywhere, except in the army. (…) It is very difficult to find somewhere to live. (…) Health insurance premiums are rising every year to staggering levels,” he said.

“The underlying trend is this systematic attack on public services – in the fields of education, health and the fight against climate change – it’s the same story. That is why young people are rising up,” he added.

Are the contexts incomparable?

Government minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, also a Social Democrat, condemned the “senseless violence” of the weekend on RTS’sExternal link ‘La Matinale’External link programme on Monday.

Whilst acknowledging that the usual political framework may not meet young people’s expectations, she argued that the Swiss context was entirely different from that of France.

“In France, we see that if you don’t invest in education or in infrastructure for young people, at some point there’s a boomerang effect, which isn’t the case in our country.”

“If we look at the quality of the facilities available to secondary school pupils, the situation is very different,” commented Alexis Couniniotis, president of the Geneva branch of the Young Radical-Liberals, on RTS’s 7.30 pm newsExternal link programme.

“We cannot simply transpose these issues, nor the way in which they are addressed. We now have democratic tools at our disposal, such as initiatives, referendums and petitions.”

Two criminologists interviewed by 20 MinutesExternal link also agree that the Swiss and French contexts are not comparable. Ahmed Ajil, an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Lucerne, sees Switzerland as less fertile ground for far-left groups.

“The education system works well, there is less local frustration and there isn’t the same scale of discontent here.”

Dirk Baier, an expert in youth violence, also points out that “the violence does not stem from young people who are disaffected or victims of discrimination either”.

Political demands or a desire for a scrap?

Commentators are generally divided on the political and social dimensions of the weekend’s riots in Switzerland. Baier believes it was simply a matter of “opportunistic violence”. Ajil, on the other hand, points out that “far-left groups view acts of vandalism as a response to structural violence, such as the supply of military equipment, poverty or marginalisation”.

“This is a well-known phenomenon in various extremist movements: often, the underlying demands are exploited to justify their own acts of violence,” Judith Bühler, a researcher specialising in radicalisation at Zurich University of Applied Sciences, told the Tages-AnzeigerExternal link.

There was “no message, no objectives, just a thirst for violence”, criticises an editorial in the Luzerner ZeitungExternal link. According to the author, “it is rather the usual circles prone to violence, including left-wing autonomists, as well as opportunists. They borrow the slogans and aesthetics of the uprisings in France and elsewhere in order to give a political veneer to their thirst for destruction”.

Public broadcaster SRFExternal link, for its part, speaks of an alliance between ideologues and troublemakers.

“The hard core of the movement, driven by a violent ideology, clearly sees the violent protests as the right moment for revolution,” the analysis states. This propensity to resort to violence is said to “resonate with a section of the younger generation”.

According to Manuel Eisner, a criminologist at the University of Cambridge, interviewed by the NZZExternal link, young people may be drawn to violence because “during a riot, the balance of power is reversed. Young people suddenly experience a sense of control”.

However, this does not mean that the riots are unrelated to politics. Although “these riots do not form part of a specific political agenda, the protests stem from a deep-seated dissatisfaction amongst young people with the education system, the housing market and the police”, according to Eisner.

He adds that, with social media, it is now “extremely easy to network”. In his view, this could encourage violent protests to spread across Europe, but how the situation develops is unpredictable.

Edited by Katy Romy. Adapted from French, sub-edited by Anand Chandrasekhar