Lausanne to have a train link to Marseille — but not for long
 
This summer, the Vaud capital will have a direct connection to the French city of Marseille, the TGV Lyria announced. 

Tickets went on sale on April 7th and can be purchased either on the SNCF or SBB sites.
 
However, the link will only be operational from July 1st to July 23rd. As for the usual Geneva-Marseille summer link, it will be put into service from July 1st to August 27th.
 
This means the intermediary city of Avignon can be reached in 3 hours and Marseille in 3 hours 43 minutes from Geneva, and 30 minutes more from Lausanne.
 
READ MORE: Which European cities can you reach by direct trains from Switzerland? 

‘Arrogant’: US newspaper takes a jab at Swiss neutrality

In its recent, strongly-worded editorial, one of America’s leading newspapers, The Washington Post, has criticised Switzerland’s neutrality vis-à-vis Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“As hundreds of thousands of lives are lost and millions of refugees have fled across the continent, Switzerland looks morally obtuse, obstructionist and arrogant…Refusing to reckon with Russia’s assault on international norms is rightly seen as a denial of reality,” the newspaper said. 

It refers to the Swiss government’s refusal to allow other countries to send their own stocks of Swiss-made munitions to Ukraine.

“Germany had explicitly asked Swiss authorities, and was refused permission, to send from its own arsenals more than 12,000 Swiss-made shells for antiaircraft weapons in Ukraine”, the editorial states. “Under Swiss law, no Swiss-made weapons can be sent into countries at war, and any re-export of those arms requires the government’s permission.” 

However, Switzerland is not the only country targeted in the editorial:  Washington Post took a shot at Austria as well.

READ MORE: Swiss MPs urge allowing arms transfers to Ukraine under strict conditions

‘Swissness’ loses its international appeal
 
Many consumers are willing to pay more for Swiss products and services because they are considered to be of especially high quality; this willingness to (over)spend brings the Swiss economy 1.4 billion francs a year.

Recently, however, the image of Swiss brands has lost some of its allure.
 
According to a recent ranking of countries by the consulting firm Brand Finance, Switzerland slipped from the first to the third place, behind Canada and the USA.

This ‘demotion’ is likely to be caused by the Credit Suisse crisis.

On the positive side, however, Switzerland is still ranked the highest among European nations, scoring more points than Germany (4 place), Denmark (5), and France (6).

But on the other hand…

Switzerland is most attractive for ATM theft

In 2022, ATM robberies in Switzerland reached an all-time high: the Federal Police (Fedpol) counted 56 cases, of which at least 44 involved gas or the explosives.

This may be due to the small area and the dense network of ATM machines in Switzerland, Fedpol pointed out in a recent report.

And, as is usually the case when something goes wrong in the country, foreigners are blamed.

“Among he criminal groups active in Switzerland are French gangs,” according to Fedpol spokesperson Berina Repesa. “The perpetrators want to leave Switzerland as soon as possible after the crime.”
 
Therefore, central Switzerland, which does not share borders with France or other countries, is “less affected,” by the thefts, she said. 
 
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]