On June 14th, voters will have their say on a hard-right’s proposal to limit the number of foreigners allowed to settle in Switzerland, in order to prevent further population growth. Approval of this initiative would present challenges not only to the country as a whole, but especially to the canton of Geneva.
The initiative, called ‘No to 10 million,’ was instigated by the populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which claims that immigration to Switzerland should be drastically reduced, so that the country’s population doesn’t exceed the 10-million mark.
This is to prevent additional strain on key infrastructure, such as housing, public transport, the health system, and schools.
READ MORE: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
These arguments have been repeatedly refuted by the government, most political parties, economists, as well as employers’ associations, which warn that not being able to hire workers from the European Union would exacerbate labour shortages and be detrimental to Switzerland’s economy, prosperity, and relations with the EU.
The SVP’s proposal would also, if accepted, have far-reaching repercussions on the canton of Geneva, which shares a 103-km-long border with France.
Fewer foreign residents, more cross-border commuters
According to Geneva MP Mauro Poggia from the Geneva Citizens’ Movement party, the ‘No to 10 million’ proposal targets foreign nationals who settle in Switzerland, but doesn’t address the issue of cross-border commuters.
The initiative must also “ encompass the issue of cross-border workers,” he pointed out in an interview with Tribune de Genève.
This is an important point, Poggia said, because if the SVP’s push is approved in a referendum and the number of new foreign residents will dwindle, “companies would almost certainly hire more cross-border commuters who would arrive in the morning and leave in the evening” – that is, without actually living in Switzerland.
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Why would this be a problem?
Currently, 114,000 people from France come to work in Geneva each day, filling the gaps in the labour market, particularly in the healthcare and services sectors.
However, while they are clearly beneficial to the canton’s economy, “their presence is already placing a heavy burden on mobility,” according to Cenni Najy, head of Mobility, Energy, and Environment Department.
Already now, bottlenecks are a frequent occurrence in Geneva, with motorists spending, on average, 141 hours sitting in traffic during peak hours, according to the 2025 Traffic Index ranking by the GPS navigation company, TomTom.
A further increase in the number of cross-border commuters needed to compensate for the loss of resident foreigners would therefore create a new headache for traffic flows.
READ MORE: Why has traffic in Geneva become a nightmare for residents?
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‘The height of absurdity’
Opponents of the proposal point out that the SVP had not thought out the initiative well enough, focusing its efforts on national concerns and ignoring cantonal ones altogether.
“It really is the height of absurdity,” said Vincent Subilia, director of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.
“Not only do sectors such as healthcare risk being denied the necessary permits to hire staff, but the initiative also creates chaos locally,” he added. “It truly appears to have been drafted on the back of a napkin.”
