Tag Archives: Beggars

Very soon, begging in the streets of Lausanne, Vevey or Yverdon will no longer be a good idea. On October 1st, the Grand Council of Vaud adopted a new law on begging that is stricter than the draft of the Council of State, which prohibits the persons concerned from begging in a large number of places, such as markets, near public buildings, daycare centres, schools, playgrounds, banks, post offices, cash machines and parking meters, shops, medical and care facilities, museums, theatres and cinemas.

While the law was originally thought against Roma beggars, it affects many drug addicts who are Swiss too…

• Le tour de vis vaudois sur la mendicité s’inscrit dans le contexte tendu de la crise du crack. In: Le Temps. 11.10.2024. https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/vaud/le-tour-de-vis-vaudois-sur-la-mendicite-s-inscrit-dans-le-contexte-tendu-de-l-explosion-du-crack

A reportage on Roma beggars in Lausanne. Now, there are also Bulgarian Roma.

• À la rencontre des mendiants roms. In: Tribune de Genève. 02.06.2024. https://www.tdg.ch/reportage-a-la-rencontre-des-mendiants-roms-a-lausanne-578714319214

This is the text that is presented in this article: Mirabela, Bobi and Ilie live in Geneva and sleep on the streets, in their cars or in emergency shelters. Due to lack of work, these Roma sometimes beg. However, begging is prohibited in strategic places in Geneva’s public space. Roma are therefore regularly arrested and fined by the police. Their debt can reach astronomical sums and risks being converted into days in prison.

It is true that begging is forbidden. But, there is a whiff of generalisation here… And that is bad.

• Roms 1/5 – Etat d’urgence. In: RTS. 24.09.2023. https://www.rts.ch/audio-podcast/2023/audio/roms-1-5-etat-d-urgence-26171194.html

The canton of Vaud is debating on the extension  of the begging interdiction that was issued by the city of Lausanne. The city and its police chief are strongly for it while the canton seems to be sceptical. In any case, begging interdictions are inefficient at best. They have been tried in many places without success and are actually aimed at very few people: In Lausanne, a scientific study that followed all beggars in the city for one year showed that there were less than 30 at any given point in time, and that each beggar has on average less than 25 CHF per day which is not much in Switzerland.

• Mendicité: le Législatif veut montrer la voie à l’Exécutif. In: 20 Minutes (CH). 22.09.2022. https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/mendicite-le-legislatif-veut-montrer-la-voie-a-lexecutif-162988354379
• Hildbrand comparé aux nazis pour sa position sur la mendicité. In: 24 Heures. 21.09.2022. https://www.24heures.ch/hildbrand-compare-aux-nazis-pour-sa-position-sur-la-mendicite-799215700084

The new cantonal law against begging in Geneva does not violate the fundamental rights of beggars. This is the conclusion of the Geneva courts which rejected Me Dina Bazarbachi’s appeal. The latter, sometimes identified as “the lawyer of the Roma”, questioned the validity of the legislation. But the Constitutional Chamber considered that the text was proportionate and responded to a public interest. While the fines could still be issues, the appeal had the effect of suspending the arrests of beggars. It is not the case anymore.

Forbidding begging is not a solution.

• Mendier est à nouveau passible d’arrestation. In: 20 Minutes (CH). 04.08.2022. https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/mendier-est-a-nouveau-passible-darrestation-272119691344