Switzerland’s proximity to France has always been a draw for residents and tourists alike but now there is a more practical reason for enticing the Swiss to France this summer.
The soaring cost of petrol is seeing more residents from Geneva and surrounding areas drive over the French border to fill up their cars.
The phenomenon has been coined ‘pump tourism’, overtaking the ‘shopping tourism’ that has long seen the Genevese buying cheaper goods in border towns.
A litre of fuel in Geneva now costs around 2.20 francs (€2.30) compared to €1.80 in the Haute-Savoie region, so – combined with a favourable exchange rate – the extended journey is worth it to some.
However, French politicians aren’t happy with this new arrangement. Prices in France are down to the government fuel rebate of 18 cents per litre, which French taxpayers ultimately fund.
“We absolutely have to give priority to French people,” Loïc Hervé, a senator from Haute-Savoie, told the Tribune de Genève paper earlier this month.
“We should not be helping out the rich, the Swiss, and foreign tourists. It’s as simple as that.”
