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GENEVA

Geneva news roundup: Commuter property prices rise and trains to France cancelled

A strike disrupts rail traffic between Geneva and France; more expensive property prices in nearby areas; and other news from Switzerland's second-largest city.

Published: 18 January 2023 12:25 CET
Geneva news roundup: Commuter property prices rise and trains to France cancelled
Nearby French slopes are within Geneva's reach. Photo by Quenten Janssen on Unsplash

All Geneva-Paris TGVs will be canceled on Thursday

Strikes in France on January 19th against the proposed pension reform will impact rail connections with Switzerland as well.

Starting tonight and throughout Thursday, all TGVs on the Lausanne-Geneva-Paris line, in both directions — a total of 16 trains — are canceled, according to train operator Lyria. 

Tonight, the Paris (Gare de Lyon)-Geneva-Lausanne trains at 6:18 pm and 8:18 pm will not be running. The same applies to the Lausanne-Geneva-Paris connection at 7:45 p.m.

The Léman Express between Geneva and Annemasse in France will be as disrupted as well, impacting hundreds of cross-border workers who use this train daily to travel to and from their jobs.

More information about alternate connections can be found here. 

Traffic to and from Geneva on Léman Express will be disrupted. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Property prices in neighbouring French regions are no longer cheap

For years, real estate prices in French border areas were lower (and sometimes by much) than properties in Geneva, where housing market is notoriously expensive.

This difference in price made border communities attractive to buyers from Geneva.

However, while properties in France are still cheaper than in the Geneva area, the gap is closing: in 2022, houses and apartments in Haute-Savoie have increased by 8.6 percent. and in Ain by 7.3 percent over the 2022 prices.

Prices are the highest in French “commuter” towns of Divonne-les-Bains and Ferney-Voltaire, which are only minutes from Geneva.

The same phenomenon extends to rents, which are higher in parts of France that are closest to Geneva.

So is it still worthwhile for Genevans to purchase property in France?

Yes, according to Sébastien Cartier, president of Fnaim Savoie Mont-Blanc real estate agency.

However, they should be willing to “to move away from the regions located near the Swiss border, towards areas farther away, where prices are more affordable,” he told Tribune de Gèneve. 

READ MORE: How the Swiss city of Geneva impacts rent prices across the border in France 

These three ski areas are only a snowball’s throw from Geneva

Now that the winter weather is finally here, and snow has fallen in the mountains at last, you may want to go skiing again.

No need to venture far: there are some family-friendly slopes right at Geneva’s doorstep.

However, given Geneva’s geography,  they are all located on the French side of the border:

Les Brasses, only 37 km from Geneva in Haute-Savoie, offers 30 km of slopes. 

Hirmentaz-​Les Habères, 35 km away, also in Haute-Savoie, has 25 runs. 

Monts Jura, 40 km from Geneva, combines the 21 ski areas of Lélex-Crozet, Mijoux-la Faucille. 

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POLITICS

Could Geneva be first Swiss canton to grant foreign residents more voting rights?

Voters in the country’s most "international" canton Geneva will soon have their say on whether non-Swiss citizens living in their midst should have more political rights.

Published: 29 April 2024 12:19 CEST
Could Geneva be first Swiss canton to grant foreign residents more voting rights?

Foreigners are not allowed to vote on national level anywhere in Switzerland.

Though there had been attempts in the past to change this rule, the latest such move was turned down by legislators in 2022.

However, five cantons are permitting foreign residents to cast their votes in local referendums and elections: Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, and Jura. Conditions vary from one canton to another, but in all cases a certain length of stay and a residence permit are required.

(In Zurich, a similar move was rejected in 2023).

Of the five cantons, only Neuchâtel and Jura authorise foreign residents to vote on cantonal level in addition to communal one; in the others, they can cast municipal ballots only. 

Additionally, three other cantons have similar laws on their books, but they this legislation remains mostly inactive.

Basel-City, Graubünden, and Appenzell-Ausserrhoden have authorised their communes to introduce the right to vote, the right to elect, and the right to be elected for their non-Swiss residents. 

However, only few of the communes in these cantons have actually introduced these measures.

Wait…Geneva’s foreigners already have the right to vote?

Yes, they have had this right since 2005, but only on municipal level.

However, this could change on June 9th, when Geneva residents will go to the polls to weigh in on an initiative launched by the trade unions and political left, calling for foreigners who have lived in the canton for at least eight years, to be able to vote and stand as candidates for political offices at the cantonal level.

This ‘upgrade’ to the cantonal voting rights is important, supporters argue, because it would enable foreigners to have more political impact.

“Municipal votes are quite rare, and the issues at stake are relatively limited,” the initiative committee said.

Therefore, “access to the cantonal vote will allow these same people to express their views on wider subjects that affect them on a daily basis.”

Is this  measure likely to be accepted?

No reliable forecasts exist at this point.

And while foreigners constitute nearly 40 percent of Geneva’s population — the highest proportion in Switzerland —  it will be up to Swiss citizens to decide on the outcome.

However, some members of the Geneva parliament are urging the ‘no’ vote on June 9th.

“No canton, no country, provides such generous rights to their foreigners,” the MPs from the centre parties pointed out in an interview with Tribune de Genève over the weekend.

(Neuchâtel and Jura allow voting, but not standing for election, at cantonal level).

“The only path for foreigners to obtain full political rights is through naturalisation,” the MPs added.

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