France–Switzerland relations

Diplomatic relations between France and Switzerland have traditionally been close, notably through important economic and cultural exchanges.

French-Swiss relations

France
Switzerland
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of France, BernEmbassy of Switzerland, Paris

Switzerland and France (which is part of the European Union), share about 600 km of border (prompting strong cross-border cooperation) and a language (French is one of Switzerland's four official languages).

History

In 1516, France and Switzerland signed a Treaty of Perpetual Peace (« paix perpétuelle »). A military treaty was signed in 1521.[1]

France has been appointing ambassadors to Switzerland since the 16th century and Switzerland's first representation abroad, in 1798, was in French capital Paris (closely followed by a consulate in Bordeaux). By the end of the 19th century, the only country with a legation in the Swiss capital Bern was France.[2]

As of 2015, there were four state visits of Presidents of France in Switzerland: Armand Fallières in August 1910, François Mitterrand on 14–15 April 1983, Jacques Chirac in 1998 and François Hollande on 15–16 April 2015.[3]

Economy

194,000 Swiss people live in France - the largest Swiss community outside Switzerland[4] - while 163,000 French people live in Switzerland - the largest French community outside France.[4] 150,000 French nationals cross the border to work in Switzerland,[4] half of all foreign cross-border commuters.[2]

France is Switzerland's third-largest trading partner (after Germany and Italy)[2] and the two are integrated economically via Swiss treaties with the European Union. Switzerland is also part of the Schengen Area, which abolishes border checks between member states.

Resident diplomatic missions


  • Consulate-General of France in Geneva
  • Embassy of Switzerland in Paris
  • Consulate-General of Switzerland in Strasbourg

See also

Notes and references
  1. (in French) Christophe Büchi, "La France, si chère au cœur des Alémaniques", Le Temps, Wednesday 15 April 2015.
  2. Bilateral relations between Switzerland and France, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (page visited on 14 April 2015).
  3. (in French) Olivier Perrin, "1910, 1983, 1998: trois présidents de la République en Suisse", Le Temps, 15 April 2015 (page visited on 15 April 2015).
  4. (in French) Xavier Alonso, "Comment la France et la Suisse se sont réconciliées", 24 heures, Friday 10 April 2015.
  5. Embassy of France in Bern
  6. Embassy of Switzerland in Paris
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