Happy Labour Day! Today is May 1st and in most countries and some cantons it is a day off work. However thanks to the federalistic governing style of Switzerland only Protestant cantons get the day off, whilst Catholic cantons do not. This is because the Catholic cantons have so many other religious holidays which are not recognised in the Protestant cantons.
You may have never heard of Pierre Maudet, but in the French speaking part of Switzerland he is somewhat of a “cause celebre”. The reason? He was a politician accused of accepting gifts from a foreign government, in this case Abu Dhabi, in particular a vacation package worth CHF 50 000.- At the time he was forced to resign, but has just been voted back into the Geneva Council by the people of Geneva, who don’t seem to have an issue wth the charges of corruption levied against him.
Last night a fire broke out in an appartment near the Löwenplatz. One person died whilst 3 others had to be sent to hospital, one is in critical condition. At this point it is unclear what caused the fire in the first place.
Avian flu seems to be receding meaning that chickens will soon be allowed outdoors again. The Avian Flu was particularly virulent in Europe this year and farmers had been ordered to keep their chickens indoors as a result.
The LUGA fair opened last weekend and so far seems to be attracting large numbers of visitors. You have until this Sunday to go along and see all the activities that are on offer. You can read all about it in our post here.
As the Swiss like to say, it will rain only once today! The rest of the week will be changeable with temperatures reaching the 20s on Thursday.
Have a great week!
