Europe's cross-border caravan commuters: How an army of French workers camp on Swiss border and cross daily into prosperous Alpine neighbour to earn higher salaries

Daily Mail​

08-07-2025

French workers are increasingly leaving behind their lives to stay in a caravan on the border and commute into neighbouring countries for more gainful employment.
Communes on the country's eastern frontier are now said to be filling up with citizens eyeing work in richer countries - while still enjoying the lower cost of living at home.
Employees can receive twice their French salary or more while working in Switzerland, and then return home for cheaper bills, groceries and fuel.
This year, France recorded more than 230,000 people crossing the border into Switzerland alone - more than double the 99,500 noted 20 years ago.
Cross-border work may be protected by law, but the scale now threatens to overwhelm the French welfare system and strain tiny frontier communities.
Roger Belot, the mayor of the Alpine village of Les Fourgs, told The Sunday Times that these workers have transformed the commune.
The community of 1,500 faces housing shortages, longer queues at food banks and a lack of staff in key industries as workers arrive and immediately look east.
Over the winter, the outlet reports, a car park serving tourists was filled with caravans and trucks, much to the chagrin of locals dependent on the ski trade.
Mr Belot said that he was now having to use village money to accommodate cross-border workers in a formal campsite where he can, at least, charge for access to water, electricity and waste disposal.
While these workers do face a stripped-back life living out of vans in potentially hostile territory, the financial benefits are clear.
France is battling an unemployment rate of 7.4 per cent and the median salary is approximately €2,735 (£2,355) net per month in the private sector, according to the latest INSEE data.
In Switzerland, the median gross monthly salary for full-time employees was CHF 6,788 (£6,249) in 2022, the most recent data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.
Put differently, the €400 (£344) Mr Belot hopes to charge for staying in the campsite is around 15 per cent of the median French wage. It is 5.5 per cent of the median Swiss.
Les Fourgs is not unique. In Pontarlier, near the Swiss border, 30 per cent of the 18,000 inhabitants are cross-border workers, 24 heures reports.
Locals complain that Swiss wages are massively driving up property prices on the French side of the border - up to levels comparable with Paris.
This trend is felt most in France, but exists in Italy, Germany and Austria, too. In total, some 405,000 people crossed borders to work in Switzerland in the first quarter of 2025. 234,000 were French.
France has, until recently, guaranteed certain protections to these workers.
Should a cross-border worker from France lose their well-paying job in Switzerland, they will be cushioned by the French state, which pays out benefits based on prior salary.
According to The Times, the French state is losing €800 million every year to such workers who lose their jobs.
Efforts are being taken to redress this. In March, a new decree aimed at cross-border workers introduced 'major changes' to compensation.
Before April 1, a cross-border worker who lost their job in Switzerland could refer to his Swiss salary to determine claims in France.
Now, it has to be defined in line with French expectations.
Nonetheless, there are now some 500,000 'frontaliers' living and working between France and its neighbours as more and more cotton on.
Social media is now awash with anonymous users gently probing how they might go about finding work over the border while continuing to live in France.
On Facebook last week, one French member of a Swiss expats group said they had a 'stable and comfortable' remote IT job based in France, but hoped to 'experience the Swiss professional environment' while continuing to live in France near the border.
They asked what kind of salary they should aim for in an IT support role while living on the French side with two young children.
'Anything above 80k CHF [£73,639] gross/year is a good salary, [especially] if you're living in France,' another anonymous user replied.
Glassdoor estimates that even working in Paris, an IT support worker can only expect a salary of around €40,500 (£34,859).
Once folded into the Swiss tax system, they can expect to pay significantly lass tax than they would in France.
Then, after a short commute home, they can pay a fraction of what they would have spent in Switzerland for dinner, utilities or a night on the town.
Curiosity around cross-border benefits has spawned blogs, travel pages and official websites dedicated to answering questions on the topic.
Associations for cross-border workers have also banded together to form the 'European Confederation of Cross-Border Workers', in part to create a legal unit to defend those subject to the new rules on benefits.
Working within the EU is, for France, slightly more straightforward. Citizens are able to move to and reside in other member countries, thanks to the right to free movement.
This means a French worker can cross the border into Germany or Belgium and live for up to three months without any requirements other than a valid identity card or passport.
To stay longer, they may be asked to meet certain conditions, like proof of study or work.
Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but French workers can work across the border with a G permit, a Swiss document that their employer applies for.
Working in Switzerland and living in France has been legal since 1983, thanks to a bilateral agreement between the two countries.
There are certain conditions; cross-border workers must return to France at least once a week, for example.
After 12 years of recognised status, cross-border workers may be eligible for Swiss nationality, while also retaining their French nationality.
Switzerland voted against joining the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1992, but separately does also allow EU citizens to live and work in Switzerland under a free movement agreement.
Switzerland, with an ageing population of just nine million, stands to gain from the system. But the influx of French workers has been met with some resistance.
Long-time beneficiaries of the system told the Sunday Times that newcomers were giving them a bad name.
And the increased supply of workers is believed to be lowering wages for available jobs in Switzerland.
Some Swiss have also started limiting access to amenities for the French.
Last week, French media picked up on reports a popular pool would limit use to Swiss nationals and holders of a valid settlement permit or work permit.
Cross-border workers may be able to enjoy the benefits for now. But on both sides of the frontier, perceptions are changing in response to the scale of the movement.