SWISS SWELL SWIRL : CLIMATE PROTEST ESSAY

LAUSANNE : Several thousand people marched in the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne last Saturday to protest government inaction in the face of global warming.

They were answering a call by a coalition of more than hundreds of associations and political parties under the common banner : 

'' NO 50-DEGREE SUMMERS !''

People of all ages took part in the marches, carrying placards with slogans such as : '' No Planet B ''  and '' We're cooked!''

The largest demonstration was at Lausanne, where 8,000 people took part.

One marcher, 31-year-old union activist Guillaume Matthey, said he hoped this was the start of a '' new cycle of widespread popular mobilisation '' to put pressure on the country's political and financial leaders for their lack of response to the climate crisis.

'' We can't just finance weapons and then not care about the rest of it - that's not on,'' said Yves Froidevaux, who is in his 60s.

'' There's been a real lack of water this summer,'' said Vincent Fontannaz, a 47-year-old actor dressed up as a giant drop of water.

'' It's not just about swimming pools. It's most of all about agriculture - and for our survival in fact,'' he added. 

One marcher, 55-year-old architect Laurent Guidetti, wore a gas mask made out of plastic models. He was one of the lucky ones to have a well-insulated apartment '' that stays cool at night,'' he said.

This summer however, he had thought about people who were not so lucky.

'' It's going to be very tough for them,'' he added.

And even if they get through this summer's heatwaves, he did not know how they would manage against the highest temperatures expected in future summers.

After Saturday's demonstrations, other protests have been called in several Swiss cities in the coming weeks until Oct 2.

Switzerland's summer heatwaves forced the closure of a nuclear power station and caused record low water levels in Lake Zurich.

!WOW! thanks AFP.