Overview
- Geneva hosted a large, authorized anti‑G7 march on Sunday that police estimated at about 20,000 participants and that began largely peaceful.
- Police said roughly 600 masked demonstrators using a Black Bloc tactic split from the main march and carried out targeted vandalism including smashed bank windows and an electric vehicle that was set on fire.
- Officers used tear gas and water cannons to push back violent groups and made multiple detentions as the disturbances unfolded across commercial streets.
- Swiss authorities had pre‑deployed about 1,500 canton police with reinforcements while France has mobilized more than 13,000 police and gendarmes and tightened border and transport controls to protect the Evian summit.
- Organizers said the No‑G7 coalition brought together environmental, feminist and pro‑Palestine groups opposed to G7 policies and the unrest has left local businesses boarded up, prompted ongoing investigations, and increased scrutiny of summit security and transit plans.