Postcard from St Julien en Genevois

Like many people who work in Geneva, particularly citizens of the EU, I don’t actually live in Switzerland at all. The difficulty of finding a reasonably priced apartment in the city where housing is very scarce, led me to decide to live just across the border in France. Like thousands of others I am therefore what is called a ‘frontalier’.

I live just under a mile from the Swiss border in a delightful little French town called St Julien en Genevois. It’s a wonderfully public spirited place, and I am proud that as an EU citizen I have the right to vote in local elections (and l do).

I cross the border to Switzerland every day to get to work. This is of course made easier by the fact that both Switzerland and France are members of the Schengen area, even though Switzerland is not part of the EU. It is also made easier by the fact the vision of ‘Grand Geneve’ has encouraged the extension of many public services across the border. So the excellent Geneva public transport system runs out to (and beyond) St Julien with a frequency that most small towns in the United Kingdom could only dream of.

I organise my life in three currencies: Swiss Francs, Euros and sterling. I pay taxes in Geneva on my Swiss earnings (as a result of an agreement between France and Geneva) and in France on any other earnings or investments. When I moved to Geneva my son was 20 years old and studying at university in the United Kingdom. One of the first things I was told after my arrival was that I was entitled to a child allowance for him from the Swiss authorities. And I am not even a resident of Switzerland and my son was in university in London!

It makes me feel rather embarrassed when I read about the attempts on the part of the British government to restrict benefits for people coming to work in the United Kingdom: compared with how I am treated by Switzerland it seems rather mean-spirited. It has certainly made me wonder why the issue of benefits for migrant workers has become such a hot potato in the United Kingdom and has got so tied up with the question of Brexit. In fact UK social benefits are not overly generous when compared with those of a number of other countries in western Europe.

I am however conscious that aspects of this cross-border life are coming under threat. Partly from movements within Switzerland – a nationwide referendum held in February 2014 voted to look for ways to curtail the number of non-Swiss working in the country. It was clear that the real target of this were people from the ‘new’ EU in eastern Europe, but inevitably it will have wider effects. Frontaliers in particular are feeling a bit nervous, even though the authorities in Geneva have made it clear that the result of the referendum was not particularly welcome to them.

But there are other ways that frontaliers may be affected too by current developments in Europe. Crossing the international border at least twice a day is made more feasible by the fact that, as a result of Schengen, we are rarely, if ever, checked by border guards. But I know that whenever there is a terrorist incident, especially in France, suddenly border guards tend to appear in one direction or the other. The queues at the check point waiting to cross can grow long and tiresome. Certainly if border controls are regularly reinstated within the Schengen area then St Julien will become for many an infinitely less attractive place to live in, if you are working in Switzerland.

I know that I am very fortunate to have for the moment what feels a privileged and enjoyable lifestyle. I enjoy feeling this sense of being part of two different countries, Switzerland and France (or at least the Haute Savoie region). I am not wanting or needing sympathy. But I think that developments such as border checks begin to feel symbolic of a wider loss. Living in the way that I do, between these two countries, somehow makes me value what it is to be a European. Somewhere in the strange mix that is the background to my current life, there is an affirmation of humanity and freedom, hospitality, openness and care for the dignity of each other. My life is infinitely richer as a result of the intra-European cooperation that has enabled me, a United Kingdom citizen, to work so easily in Geneva and live in France, and I am very grateful for it.

About the author

Dr Clare Amos is currently Programme Coordinator for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation at the World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland. An Anglican Christian and a UK citizen, prior to moving to Geneva in autumn 2011 Clare worked for the Anglican Communion Office in London, with responsibility for theological education and interfaith concerns. Clare is a biblical scholar by background and both personally and professionally interested in the question of the impact of religious texts on the current political and religious situation in the Middle East, where she and her husband, Alan, lived for a number of years. While living in St Julien Clare and Alan worship at Holy Trinity Church, part of the Church of England Diocese of Europe.