Swiss police use water cannon, tear gas against anti-G7 protesters in Geneva

Water cannon and tear gas drove anti-G7 protesters back through central Geneva on Sunday as Swiss police tried to contain a march that had swollen into a major confrontation a day before the summit was set to open across the border in France. The violence unfolded just as Geneva and the wider Lake Geneva region were bracing for one of the biggest security operations in years, with businesses boarding up storefronts and officials closing off much of the frontier.

Geneva police spokesman Alexandre Brahier said 20,000 people took part in the protest, including about 600 so-called Black Block militants. Police ordered demonstrators to disperse after several incidents, and the march turned violent when some protesters threw stones, flares, bottles and other projectiles. A Tesla vehicle was set on fire, windows were smashed at a bank and at a United Nations-related building, and police said protesters targeted United Nations buildings, including a UN telecommunication building.

The confrontation came as the G7 prepared to meet June 15-17 in Evian-les-Bains, France, only a short distance from Geneva. The group includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, and U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to attend. The summit was expected to focus on the Middle East, Ukraine and global economic imbalances, issues that have made the gathering a magnet for protesters who see the forum as a stage for wealthy governments to manage crises without addressing the people most affected by them.

The No-G7 coalition brought together more than 60 associations, unions and left-wing groups, with environmentalists, feminists, anti-imperialist activists, defenders of independent media and supporters of Palestinian rights all taking part. That mix reflected a wider anger at elite global forums, where critics say leaders speak about peace, security and fairness while policies continue to deepen inequality and conflict. In Geneva, that tension between summit messaging and street-level outrage spilled into the open.

Swiss and French authorities had already tightened security across the region, deploying thousands of police, setting road closures and restricting border crossings. Swiss officials said only seven of the 35 roadway border crossings would remain open. The heavy response was meant to preserve public order and civil liberties at the same time, but the clashes showed how quickly a controlled protest can turn into a warning about the depth of public distrust toward gatherings like the G7.