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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

UPDATED: Switzerland’s Migros overturns ban on alcohol sales

The management of Swiss supermarket Migros has cleared the way for outlets to sell alcohol, for the first time in the company’s 100-year history.

Published: 17 November 2021 14:59 CET
The familiar orange lettering of Swiss supermarket chain Migros
Swiss supermarket chain Migros. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Delegates from Swiss supermarket Migros have voted in favour of allowing the company’s 630 outlets to sell alcohol. 

The decision, passed by a majority of 85 to 22, allows the company’s regional cooperative organisations to decide whether or not they want to sell alcohol. 

Migros was founded in 1925 by Swiss businessman Gottlieb Duttweiler with the proviso that the supermarket would not sell alcohol and tobacco. 

As The Local Switzerland revealed in a recent article, while Duttweiler did this under a special pledge of upholding public health “against excessive consumption of cheap brandy and fruit schnapps”, in reality his decision was motivated by self-interest as he saw a special opportunity as a result of the growing prohibition movement. 

EXPLAINED: The real reason Swiss supermarket Migros doesn’t sell alcohol

In fact, while it may seem like a seismic shift, the company has been selling alcohol through a variety of loopholes for decades. 

Migros subsidiaries Migrolino and Denner both sell alcohol and cigarettes, while Migros itself currently sells alcohol and tobacco via the internet under the Le Shop banner.

When will I see booze on my shelves in Migros? 

As with anything in Switzerland, things take a while.

Migros outlets are governed by ten regional cooperatives, who need to decide whether or not they will allow their outlets to sell alcohol. 

The pledge against selling alcohol has been popular for Migros, particularly in more conservative areas, so there is the chance that some cooperatives will opt to stick with the status quo. 

If the cooperatives do however decide to implement the relaxed rules, the outlets will then begin to stock their shelves with beer and wine. 

Tobacco on the other hand will remain forbidden, meaning you won’t see cigarettes on Migros shelves any time soon. 

This will not happen until June 2022 at the earliest, Migros confirmed, due to an internal voting process among the cooperatives. 

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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

‘Il fait bon chaud’: Geneva reveals how different French is in Switzerland

It is a well-known fact that the Swiss German language is totally different from ‘regular’ German. But what about the French spoken in Switzerland?

Published: 28 March 2024 14:43 CET
'Il fait bon chaud': Geneva reveals how different French is in Switzerland

Overall , the language of the Suisse Romande (the French part of Switzerland) is pretty similar to the one spoken in France.

In any case, it is not so different that the Swiss and the French don’t understand each other (so this can’t be the reason why the two sometimes look down on one other.)

READ ALSO: How the Swiss see their French neighbours — and vice versa

Here are some examples.

During the Francophone Week, which was held in French-speaking nations and regions of the world from March 14th to 23rd, the city of Geneva took to social media to highlight six typically Swiss-French expressions.

They are:

Ca va, le chalet?

This literally means, ‘how is your chalet?’ but in the Suisse Romande  it means ‘are you crazy?’

The same  expression in France is ‘tu es fou?’

Il n’y a pas le feu au lac 

No, this is not someone telling you the lake is on fire (which makes no sense whatsoever).

Instead, it expresses that something is not urgent — a message a French person would convey as ‘il n’y a pas d’urgence.’

Il fait bon chaud

Instead of saying simply ‘il fait chaud’, as any French person would, the Swiss prefer to interject the work ‘bon’ into this sentence — just because.

READ ALSO: Seven hacks you’ll need for life in French-speaking Switzerland

Remettre l’église au milieu du village 

You may think this means the intention to re-build a village church but, here too, you shouldn’t take this sentence literally.

In Switzerland, this means to put something in order or, as a French person would say, “remettre les choses en ordre.

Ça joue ou bien?

This means ‘is everything ok?’, or, if you only speak French-French, it’s simply ‘ça va?

Deçu en bien

For a Swiss person this phrase conveys that someone is pleasantly surprised — or ‘être agréablement surpris’ if you come from across the border.

But wait, there is more

The Swiss are not necessarily known for their penchant for simplicity, but when it comes to double-digit numbers, they opted for the less complex and tongue-twisting way than their French counterparts.

In France, for instance, 93 is quite a mouthful: quatre-vingt-treize (four twenties and 13), but the Swiss cut to the chase with nonante-trois (ninety-three).

Ditto for the number 70 (soixante-dix), 80 (quatre-vingt), and 90 (quatre-vingt-dix).

The Swiss-French equivalents, on the other hand, are the breezy septante, huitante, and nonante.

Other notable differences are, for example, collège or gymnase (high school) in French-speaking cantons, and ‘lycée’ in France.

Then there is la panosse (mop) in Switzerland, while the same thing is called la serpillière in France.

And another one is ‘Nom de bleu’, it is basically ‘dammit’ (pardon our French) — which is ‘nom de dieu’ in France.

READ ALSO: The Swiss French words which help you sound like a local

This is by no means is an exhaustive list, though many people may find it exhausting nevertheless.

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