Andrew Chamberlain of Zurich, Switzerland details the recent visit of Francois Hollande to Switzerland for tax purposes. Very interesting material, enjoy!

1. Hollande Visits
Switzerland
Andrew Chamberlain

2. President Hollande’s Visit
❖ In a rare yet welcomed visit,
French President Francois
Hollande chatted and held a
joint press conference with his
Swiss counterpart, President
Simonetta Sommaruga!
❖ They touched upon several
i s s u e s , S w i s s b a n k i n g
regulations and immigration in
particular, that have strained the
already sensitive relationship
between both European states

3. ❖ Switzerland is currently under a lot of pressure by the
United States and their closest neighbor, France, who seek to
motivate the Swiss government into reforming its banking
laws!
❖ Swiss banking regulation has become synonymous with the
wealthy and sometimes the criminal, using their system to
shield their money from the reach of their own governments!
❖ The French, being close enough to share a 350 mile border
with Switzerland, have seen a lot of wealthy French citizens
dump their money into protected Swiss bank accounts in
order to avoid taxation

4. ❖ On the immigration issue, the Swiss have been known
for also having a more or less open border rule across
Europe but a recent vote to limit immigration has
worried the French government. Over 100,000 French
nationals cross the French-Swiss border daily to get to
their jobs!
❖ This sudden change, or contradiction as President
Hollande called it, in Switzerland’s backing of the free
movement of people has made many workers feel
threatened

5. ❖ Prior to President Hollande’s visit, the last visit by a
French president was by Jacques Chirac in 1998!
❖ Before that, just to show how rare a French visit to
Switzerland is, president Francois Mitterrand visited the
Swiss in 1983 and Armand Fallieres visited in 1910!
❖ Swiss officials, ahead of Hollande’s visit, have hinted at
wanting visits by their French neighbors to become less
of a rarity

6. ❖ During his stay in Switzerland, President Hollande also
met with Thomas Bach, the head of the International
Olympic Committee as well as thousands of French
nationals residing in Switzerland

7. -Andrew Chamberlain
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