Geneva, the city famously associated with peace treaties, expensive watches, and fondue, has temporarily added 'water cannons at protesters' to its resume. According to BBC reporting, Swiss police deployed water cannons and fired tear gas to disperse anti-G7 demonstrators ahead of the summit, as clashes broke out between officers and protesters in the streets.
What actually happened
As G7 leaders began converging on Geneva, a contingent of protesters who are decidedly not fans of the world's wealthiest democracies gathered to make their feelings known. Things escalated quickly enough that Swiss authorities - not exactly known for their itchy trigger fingers - rolled out the heavy-duty crowd dispersal gear. Water cannons and tear gas were deployed to push back the demonstrators, per BBC coverage of the events.
To be fair, if you are going to pick a place to protest global wealth inequality, a city where a hotel breakfast costs roughly the same as a used car is not the worst choice for symbolism.
The G7 backdrop
The G7 summit brings together leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Canada, along with the European Union, to hash out positions on the world's biggest economic and geopolitical challenges. Anti-G7 sentiment has been a reliable fixture at these summits for decades, with critics arguing the group serves the interests of wealthy nations at the expense of the global south, climate action, and economic equity.
This is, in other words, not a new phenomenon. Protesters have shown up to disrupt G7 gatherings since at least the 1990s, and authorities have been deploying tear gas at them for almost as long. Some traditions are truly timeless.
The Swiss response
Switzerland is not a G7 member but is hosting the summit, which means Swiss police get the exciting job of managing the security operation while Swiss taxpayers presumably stare at the ceiling at night wondering how they ended up here. The deployment of water cannons suggests authorities came prepared for the possibility that things would not stay entirely calm.
No further details on injuries or arrests have been confirmed at the time of writing, per available BBC reporting.
The summit itself continues, with world leaders presumably discussing very important things indoors while the streets outside remain, let's say, lively.
