GENEVA – While President Trump is set to entertain UFC fighters on the White House lawn this Sunday night, a more intense confrontation is unfolding on the streets of Geneva. Around 50,000 demonstrators are anticipated to flood Switzerland’s second-largest city, rallying against the G7 summit.
Geneva has essentially come to a standstill on this day. Businesses have shuttered their doors and fortified their windows with boards, bracing for potential unrest. Anti-protest barriers have been erected across the city, as police vans have strategically positioned themselves at various intersections. Officers clad in riot gear are on high alert, ready to handle any disturbances.
President Trump is expected to touch down for the G7 summit on Monday. Like his fellow leaders, he will make his initial arrival at Geneva’s airport before heading to the summit’s venue in Evian, France, a short journey away.
In a bid to keep demonstrators at bay, French and Swiss authorities have taken measures to close 27 border crossings on Sunday. This move is aimed at preventing protesters from reaching the serene spa town on Lake Geneva’s shores, where Trump and other global dignitaries will be convening.
The skies above Lake Geneva are being patrolled by military helicopters, which circle the iconic Jet d’Eau, one of the tallest fountains globally. Meanwhile, police boats are diligently monitoring the lake’s waters, ensuring the security of the area during this high-stakes event.
The protesters, who had to get permits for Sunday’s event, is a “No-G7” coalition of more than 60 associations, unions and left-wing groups that denounce “fascism and imperialism”.
“The only good system is a sound system,” read one of many signs the groups pasted around Geneva.
There is concern Sunday’s event could be a repeat of 2003 when violent protesters smashed windows and caused thousands in damage on the sidelines of the G8, when Russia was a member of the group.
“We are very afraid of the policy and the politics of Mr. Trump and also of the other leaders of the G7, because they are fighting, making war all over the place,” Francoise Nyffeler, spokesperson for the NoG7 coalition, told the Associated Press.
“The planet is in danger and we are very scared about it and we want to protest and say that the people of the world are against their policies,” she added.
One protest already took place on Friday, when a flotilla of around 20 boats parked off the shore of Evian on Lake Geneva on Saturday, displaying anti-G7 and pro-Palestinian banners.
Given the determination of the groups and the number of world leaders who will be in the area, both French and Swiss military members have been deployed to back up local police.
The G7 brings together the leaders of the world’s largest developed economies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is the summit host, also invited several other leaders, including from India and several Middle East nations.
The three-day summit, which begins Monday, is the first such gathering of leaders since Trump launched the Iran war.
The start was postponed for a day so Trump could mark his 80th birthday Sunday at the White House, where the UFC will stage seven bouts in an octagon built on the South Lawn.