Swiss public pool 'bans foreigners' and forces visitors to provide proof of citizenship after girls were subjected to sexual harassment
The rule, mainly affecting people coming across the French border, was brought in by authorities in the town of Porrentruy at the start of the month and is expected to last for the whole summer.
In the last few weeks alone, some 20 incidents are reported to have occurred at the pool, each involving visitors from France who were then banned.
'We have young girls who were followed and whistled at,' city councillor Lionel Maitre said, adding that employees were also disrespected and even attacked in one case.
In response, access to the outdoor bathing area has been limited to Swiss nationals and holders of settlement and work permits.
The 'blanket ban' has been described as 'problematic and irritating' by the Swiss government's Federal Commission Against Racism (FCR).
The commission's president Ursula Schneider Schüttel suggested that the move may even contravene Article 8 of the country's constitution, the principle of non-discrimination.
But Porrentruy Mayor Philippe Eggertswyler and city council members strongly denied that the measure amounted to discrimination against any section of the public.
'We need to look at the problem differently,' he said. 'There are huge crowds today, and it's imperative that we ensure that the people of Jura can already benefit from this infrastructure.'
The decision has faced criticism from the public and politicians in Switzerland and France.
'Not all of these people came from neighboring France - some also came from Switzerland, but that's the minority,' Maitre said.
He also hit back at the accusation of racism, saying it was largely coming from 'left-wing political organizations or individual representatives of the political left.'
But among those labelling the decision discriminatory was Christian Zimmerman, a council member who is part of Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration party Rassemblement National.
In a letter to the Mayor, the official said he had been alerted 'by many French citizens' that access had been restricted, and requested that he 'reverse this discriminatory and disproportionate measure vis-à-vis the public of neighboring France.'
An editorial in Swiss newspaper Le Temps said the decision set 'a dangerous precedent'.
'In the middle of the tourist season, this decision damages Switzerland's image and causes diplomatic unrest,' the paper's deputy editor wrote.
The FCR told Swiss outlet Blick that the local authorities should consider whether the ban 'is truly proportionate and whether less drastic measures could be considered, such as individual bans on swimming pools for people who repeatedly violate the rules.'
Maitre said that those critical of the move are failing to come up with 'concrete solutions' of their own, adding that the local government had tried multiple different rules to curtail the problems before implementing the ban.
He said that the move would not affect tourists staying overnight in the city as they are able to get permission to use the pool from their hosts, who are able to provide them with a 'guest card'.
Maitre blamed the crowds at his city's pool to the pool closures in France, saying French towns, plagued by the same problem of anti-social behaviour, would rather 'close their pools completely than solve the problems.'
This, he suggested, meant young people from neighbourhoods near the border were going to Switzerland.
The city previously stopped non-citizens from using the pool during the Covid-19 pandemic, to stop the spread of the virus.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Crystal Palace have court date set to hear on European future
Crystal Palace is challenging UEFA's decision to demote them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League. The demotion is due to UEFA's multi-club ownership rules, specifically concerning John Textor's controlling stake in Palace and his previous ownership of Olympique Lyonnais. A closed-door hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is scheduled for 8 August, with a ruling anticipated by 11 August. If Crystal Palace's appeal is unsuccessful, Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, will take their place in the Europa League. Crystal Palace supporters have protested UEFA's decision, including a demonstration at the organisation's headquarters in Switzerland.
Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Telegraph
Pro-Gaza MP's supporter ‘harassed rival with megaphone'
A member of a pro-Gaza MP 's campaign team harassed his Labour rival with ' inflammatory and offensive ' language shouted from a megaphone during the election, a council investigation has found. Ammar Anwar, who was a part of MP Iqbal Mohamed's team in Dewsbury and Batley last summer, allegedly accused a Labour candidate of being a Zionist who supported genocide. Heather Iqbal, the defeated Labour candidate, and her supporters subsequently complained of 'intimidation, abuse and harassment' from Mr Mohamed's backers in the run-up to polling day on July 4 2024. Two complaints against Mr Anwar were later upheld by the council's standards committee. The Telegraph has also obtained a video showing Mr Mohamed branding Sir Keir Starmer a 'murderer' and the Conservatives 'thieves'. In his campaign video, Mr Mohamed, surrounded by six supporters, said he was standing 'for our community, for Muslims, for Pakistanis, for Gujaratis, for English people, for all people'. 'I have one request for you, please do not give your vote to the murderer Starmer. And do not give it to the thieving Tories. Give it to the Independents. Vote Mohamed.' This weekend, The Telegraph revealed how tensions have escalated in the constituency since the election, with allegations that people have been terrorised by supporters of the MP following incidents of violence and arson. Mr Mohamed rejected the allegations. He said reported claims of abuse, intimidation and harassment during the election campaign are 'one-sided, unsubstantiated and misleading'. His office said the MP 'has, and continues to, categorically condemn all forms of harassment, intimidation or abuse in political campaigning or general life, has stated that these actions have no place in our democracy or society, and that he does not condone them under any circumstances'. The incidents provide a worrying insight into a brand of sectarian politics apparently on the rise in parts of the UK in the wake of Hamas's Oct 7 attack on Israel. Mr Anwar, an Independent councillor, was investigated by the standards committee of Kirklees council, which covers Dewsbury, after two complaints. One alleged that he had followed Ms Iqbal in a van and used a loudspeaker to 'target and harass' her, using language that was allegedly 'offensive'. The second cited 'inappropriate' behaviour on election day, when he was acting as Mr Mohamed's polling agent, including failing to treat council officers with respect, encouraging others to 'engage in poor behaviour', and ignoring requests for assistance to ' calm down volatile situations '. Both complaints were upheld as breaches of the council's code of conduct covering respect, honesty and integrity. Mr Anwar apologised to the council for his behaviour. The investigation noted that he did not deny the van incidents. It also noted his suggestion that he was not in breach of standards as the police had declined to take any further action on the first complaint and dismissed it. However, it said that while it was not a criminal breach, the council's code of conduct was a 'very different matter'. The investigators concluded that 'in asserting that the Labour party candidate was a Zionist who supported genocide, Cllr Anwar was disrespectful'. They added: 'His language was inflammatory and offensive and had the potential to create a risk for the Labour candidate and her campaign team.' The investigators upheld the second complaint and said: 'Cllr Anwar had not treated the complainant and other council officers with respect… 'He consistently ignored requests for assistance in calming down volatile situations and that he was also actively encouraging others to engage in poor behaviour, much of which was either directed towards officers or which they were left to deal with.' Dewsbury and Batley constituency used to be a two-way fight between Tories and Labour, but the fracturing of politics saw Mr Mohamed, the pro-Gaza Independent, take 41 per cent of the vote to Labour's 23 per cent. Reform on 16 per cent squeezed the Tories into fourth with 11 per cent. Mr Anwar disputed both complaints when contacted by The Telegraph. He said he was in Birmingham and not in West Yorkshire on the day of the alleged incident with the van. He said a recording of the voice on the megaphone was not his. He said he had been at home on the day of the election. He acknowledged he had apologised over that complaint because 'the council legal department decided to believe the council employee rather than me'. But he said he had not apologised for the second incident involving the van. Mr Anwar added that he did not believe Ms Iqbal had been intimidated by the MP's supporters. Instead, he said: 'It's a predominantly Muslim area. She was getting confronted by residents. We are not responsible for how the residents feel towards the Labour party.' Asked about Mr Mohamed's campaign video, Shaheen Sidat, the deputy chairman of the Dewsbury and Batley Conservative party, said: 'Given the sensitive nature of the local community dynamics, this kind of rhetoric not only risks division but also raises serious questions about the integrity of his campaign message.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Issuing prison officers with Tasers won't make them safer
If you have read anything on the prison system over the past few years, you will have noticed a few common themes: overcrowding, understaffing, reoffending, crumbling infrastructure, and abject conditions. Our prisons are increasingly places of despair – full of drugs, drones, self-harm, violence and deaths. The recent annual report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons lay testament to the extent of the crisis gripping the prison system. And the government knows this. Its own research sets out that people living in overcrowded cells were 19 per cent more likely to be involved in assault incidents – and 67 out of the 121 adult male prisons in this country are overcrowded. In the context of rising violence across the prison estate, what is the government's solution? To recruit and train more prison officers? To address overcrowding by reducing capacity in particularly troubled jails and across the system? To invest in infrastructure? To increase education and training budgets to give prisoners access to the means to turn their lives around? No. While we wait for bolder action to fix the broken prison system, the government's response is to trumpet the fact that Tasers will now be used behind bars. The introduction of Tasers has been linked to horrific incidents involving attacks on staff at Frankland and Belmarsh – although it is far from clear that access to these weapons would have prevented either incident taking place. Staff in adult male prisons already have access to batons and PAVA spray, which we know undermine positive relationships between staff and those in their care. The escalating use of force brings with it a multitude of concerns. Inspection reports have consistently revealed inappropriate use of force, including against people threatening to self-harm; problems with lack of staff training; inadequate use of body-worn cameras; and disproportionate use of force against people from Black, Black/British, and Muslim backgrounds. While Tasers are being piloted in a limited manner – just the 'operational response and resilience unit' will be authorised to use them – the fear must be that this is the thin edge of the wedge. Indeed, speaking to journalists about Tasers, the secretary of state for justice, Shabana Mahmood, remarked: 'This is very much the beginning'. It seems that the rollout of further weapons in prisons has been foretold. And that would track; two months ago, the secretary of state approved of the use of PAVA spray – an otherwise illegal chemical incapacitant – in prisons holding children, despite evidence that it won't reduce violence and will be disproportionately used against Black and minority ethnic children, Muslim children and children with disabilities. Last week, the Howard League issued legal proceedings to challenge this decision. Almost every week, I visit prisons across the country and speak to people being held in and working in dreadful conditions. Many of this country's jails are filthy, overrun simultaneously with drones and rats. People eat – and go to the toilet – in cramped cells with poor ventilation. There are more than 22,000 people sharing a cell intended for a single person. Facilities have become dilapidated as the maintenance backlog has grown. Restricted regimes, often due to staff shortages, mean that people have little to do but stay locked in their cells. I speak to prison governors doing their very best to keep the people in their care safe, though they are often uncomfortable with the job they are doing, feeling powerless to attract the resources they need to run a better jail. They all want fewer people in their prison, higher staff confidence and capability, and more time to spend with prisoners to help turn their lives around. But there is no money for any of that. And so, prisoners are held in ghastly conditions, and when this leads to unrest and violence, the government is sanctioning yet more use of force against them. There is no question that the government is facing a crisis in its prisons. But this will not be solved with easy, reactionary policies. What is needed is political courage to explain the problems honestly to the public – as Keir Starmer started to do last July – and long-term investment in evidence-based policy that addresses the roots of the overcrowding and reoffending in our prison system. Violence will not be stemmed by more violence. The government must look at its own evidence and acknowledge that, rather than adding to the pressure in our overstretched jails, the best response to rising levels of violence is to reduce the prison population and offer productive and positive regimes for people in custody. We will be waiting until September for legislation to deliver changes proposed in David Gauke's sentencing review, which will hopefully ease some of this pressure. But otherwise, the government's plan seems to be to build more prisons, and weaponise them at pace. Which feels a long way from the promise of the prime minister's first press conference last July.
