On Saturday evening, October 31, unauthorized protests took place in Zurich and Basel. They ended in clashes with police. Several hundred people participated in the actions. They marched under the slogan "On en a marre — en Suisse aussi" ("We've had enough — in Switzerland too") and recalled the protests in France. This was reported by the Keystone-SDA agency, as retold by swissinfo.ch. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Events in Zurich

At around 22:30, hundreds of people gathered on Langstrasse in the city center. Some came in Halloween masks. They set off fireworks and flares and moved toward Helvetiaplatz square.

However, once at the square, the situation changed dramatically. Protesters damaged a bus stop shelter, set fire to a barricade made of trash cans, bicycles and other objects. A car caught fire, and several shops had their windows smashed. Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. According to police, fireworks, bottles and stones were repeatedly thrown at them. The clashes continued until about 1:30 a.m.

Protest in Basel

At around 21:00, about 150 people gathered in the center of Basel. After speeches, the march crossed the Middle Bridge over the Rhine into the Kleinbasel district, then reached Market Square and headed toward the St. Johann district. There, participants also set fire to barricades made of trash cans and metal fences, after which police intervened.

Causes and context of the protests

Participants drew parallels with youth protests in France and other European countries. A few days before the action, unknown individuals called on social media to take to the streets under the slogan "GenZ regelt!" — the name young protesters in Germany call themselves.

Earlier, mass protests against the rising cost of living, unaffordable housing and cuts in social spending took place in France, Germany, Italy and Portugal. Some of the actions ended in clashes with police. In Poland, demonstrators gathered outside the Constitutional Tribunal amid a conflict over its leadership. We explain what is happening in European countries.