Numerous retailers in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland have been targeted by thieves in recent years by criminals from France, prompting calls for stricter border checks.
Within a week of each other at the beginning of October, two gun shops in the Lausanne region were targeted by criminals from over the border in France, according to media reports.
One of the thefts was successful, while the other was narrowly prevented, thanks to a police patrol that just happened to be passing by.
In both instances, perpetrators came from the neighbouring regions of France, reports said.
Swiss police say there have been numerous other incidents where gun dealers and jewellery shops were burgled, ATM machines blown up, and expensive cars stolen, all by criminals from over the border in France.
“French-speaking Switzerland is the most affected by organised crime from France,” the federal police (Fedpol) said.
It added that most perpetrators come from the suburbs of French cities located just over the border Switzerland: Annemasse, Lyon, Grenoble, but also Montbéliard and Saint-Etienne.
As a French newspaper, Le Messager reported in July 2025, “the theft of luxury vehicles is on the rise in the canton of Vaud, and criminals often escape to France,” adding that “several chases took place to catch the thieves” on the other side of the border.
Securing the borders
In view of the repeated offences committed by France-based criminals in neighbouring Swiss cantons, deputy Jean-Luc Addor, who represents the border canton of Valais in parliament, is calling for “reinstating of more stringent controls at our borders.”
However, “we won’t be able to do that with our current staff,” he said, citing shortages of personnel at border crossings.
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To remedy this situation, Addor said he will submit a motion during the winter session of the parliament, to be held from December 1st to December 19th, in favour of increasing the number of staff at the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (BAZG).
He will also demand that the BAZG budget be increased – and spared from the federal budget cuts inflicted on other departments – so that more border guards can be hired and their salaries be raised to prevent a “high resignation rate.”
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But not everyone is in favour of this move
One of those who have spoken against tighter border security is Vaud deputy Thanh-My Tran-Nhu.
“It is difficult to know whether a person of French nationality who passes through the border will come and commit a crime in Switzerland, so why hinder the free movement of people?,” she said.
