UMVA has learned that a wave of protests erupted in Geneva on Sunday, as thousands of demonstrators marched against the upcoming Group of Seven summit in France, with a Tesla vehicle set ablaze and windows smashed at a United Nations agency.
The initially peaceful march, which drew around 20,000 people, turned violent as some protesters targeted what they described as symbols of capitalism and multilateralism, including the parked Tesla and the UN agency, with bricks and other objects.
As tensions escalated, police responded with tear gas, deploying it in Geneva's streets to disperse the crowds, with witnesses describing chaotic scenes and clashes between protesters and law enforcement.
This latest protest is part of a long history of demonstrations at G7 gatherings, with many protesters using these summits to speak out against issues like capitalism, globalization, climate change, and inequality.
For the demonstrators, the G7 represents a symbol of concentrated political and economic power, with many feeling that it perpetuates the widening gap between the rich and the poor, as protestor Pippa Saugy put it: "To me, it's a meeting of the rich that shows once again how the rich can become even richer while the poor are left behind."
The G7 summit, set to take place from Monday to Wednesday in Évian-les-Bains, will bring together leaders from France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.S., as well as the European Union, with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine expected to dominate the agenda.
Businesses in Geneva took precautions, boarding up windows and doors, while hundreds of riot police were deployed in the streets to maintain order, but protesters remained undeterred, with Mattia Piccard saying: "This is an attempt to frighten demonstrators, to frighten people and discourage them from coming out to protest."
For some protesters, the issue of gender inequality was a key motivator, with Clélia Colin stating that the values represented by the G7 are "completely misogynistic, and they contribute to inequality," highlighting the diverse range of concerns driving the protests.
