To welcome the heads of state of the greatest world powers, the city of Évian is transformed into a fortress, with an extraordinary security system that disrupts the daily lives of residents and traders. Report on site Thursday June 11, three days before the demonstration.
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Very showy and omnipresent, in a vast area around Évian (Haute-Savoie). Since Thursday June 11 in the morning, the police have been checking each vehicle at numerous checkpoints. Everyone, residents, artisans, tourists, must have a digital pass. Some anticipated delays linked to traffic jams. “I expect a minimum time of half an hour, I hope that will be enough”, slips a motorist. “I tried to leave a little later during rush hour to see what it was like, but it all depends on where you’re going.”advances another.
Others find the device excessive. “There are cops from all over the countryside, in the forest, while the guys aren’t even there. It’s scandalous,” a driver loses his temper. The G7 heads of state are expected in four days on the banks of Lake Geneva, in a hotel on the heights of Évian-les-Bains. It is somewhat deserted this Thursday, and we see almost more law enforcement than residents there.. “There are a lot of people who have left, who have taken vacations,” observes a young man.
More than 16,000 police officers, gendarmes and soldiers are mobilized. Some 1,600 square kilometers will be scrutinized, like the nearby Swiss borders, and Evian as the epicenter. “Calm, very calm. I think we passed two cars on the way down to town. Lots of police officers”notes a local resident. “It’s a bit special, but you get used to it quickly. In the end, we know that it’s not bad, that there won’t be any problems. It’s more for the work that it’s complicated“, notes another.
The constraint of passes is a source of concern for some traders. In 2003, the city had already hosted an international summit, sometimes synonymous with a drop in turnover. “There are a lot of stores that are closed, indeed. There, we have four days to spend with very few premises“, deplores Pascal Taupin, owner of a tobacconist.
The hotels, however, have been full for several months, thanks to delegations and the police. The G7 is also a spotlight on the spa town. “It gives an international, global scale. The people who are going to come there, delegations, will perhaps want to come back with their families or their children”underlines Christelle Helstroffer, hotel manager. Advertising that has a cost: for the moment, on land, at sea and in the air, Évian is under surveillance due to the risk of terrorism, in particular.
