{"id":135500,"date":"2025-05-27T08:55:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/135500\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T08:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:55:17","slug":"switzerland-and-france-poised-to-strike-water-sharing-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/135500\/","title":{"rendered":"Switzerland and France poised to strike water sharing deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/geneva.jpg\" width=\"1300\" height=\"867\" alt=\"Switzerland and France share the waters of Lake Geneva\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                Switzerland and France share the waters of Lake Geneva            <\/p>\n<p>            Keystone \/ Stf        <\/p>\n<p>            Listen to the article        <\/p>\n<p>            Listening the article        <\/p>\n<p>                Toggle language selector            <\/p>\n<ul class=\"read-aloud\/track-selector__options\">\n<li>\n<p>                            English (US)                        <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>                            English (British)                        <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>            Generated with artificial intelligence.        <\/p>\n<p>        A Franco-Swiss agreement on Lake Geneva water management is about to be signed under discussion for months, Swiss public broadcaster RTS has learned.\n<\/p>\n<p>        This content was published on    <\/p>\n<p>        May 27, 2025 &#8211; 09:51\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/latest-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The deal will arrive with water becoming an increasingly precious resource. France is exerting pressure due to the development of its nuclear power plants.<\/p>\n<p>Not far from the Bugey French nuclear power plant, located 70kms from Switzerland, France plans to build new generation reactors by 2040. Water from the Rh\u00f4ne is pumped there to cool the facility before returning to the river.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/climate-solutions\/switzerland-gets-ready-for-increasing-risks-of-severe-drought\/89291799\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">+ How Switzerland is preparing for increasing drought risk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Geneva, this practice worries Antonio Hodgers, a Geneva State Councillor, who points out that France\u2019s increased water consumption, coupled with climate change, could pose a problem.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf France increases its nuclear capacity and wants to consume even more water than today, and, moreover, we have less water for our own uses because of global warming, we will all have a problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Nuclear challenge<\/p>\n<p>Already today, water is a contested cross-border geopolitical issue, particularly in the event of prolonged drought, as was the case last summer when French farmers had to reduce their water consumption.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/climate-solutions\/what-it-takes-to-preserve-groundwater-across-borders-in-geneva\/78885132\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">+ Genevese aquifer model for sharing water across national boundaries<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Experts predict a 20% decline in the flow of the Rh\u00f4ne within thirty years, and up to 75% by 2100 with the melting of glaciers. Christian Br\u00e9thaut, a water governance specialist, emphasises the need to establish water use priorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will have to think about the trade-offs and priorities that we want to assign to various use cases. The priority on the French side, particularly regarding the use of a portion of Lake Geneva water, is nuclear power,\u201d explains the expert.<\/p>\n<p>Powering its four nuclear power plants located along the Rh\u00f4ne is a real challenge for France. The agreement currently being finalised would allow Switzerland to continue to manage Lake Geneva\u2019s water level on its own under normal circumstances, as it has done for over 100 years.<\/p>\n<p>But in the event of an alert, particularly a drought, France could intervene. However, the agreement does not specify the volume of water to be allocated to its French neighbor, which is a victory for Switzerland. The agreement also provides for the creation of a Franco-Swiss consultative commission on the Rh\u00f4ne.<\/p>\n<p>Tensions could increase<\/p>\n<p>In the event of a risk to the French nuclear facility, the canton of Geneva will open the floodgates. However, the Geneva authorities insist that this measure is exceptional.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not going to drain Lake Geneva to power a nuclear power plant; we\u2019ve already made that clear. We have responsibilities to the people of Vaud and Valais to ensure the region\u2019s water supply. And we\u2019ve made that clear to France,\u201d said Hodgers.<\/p>\n<p>The French authorities and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment declined to comment before the Lake Geneva deal has been signed.<\/p>\n<p>On the French side, the electricity producer and supplier EDF says that future reactors will be less water-hungry than the current power plants, and that the quantity of water available in the Rh\u00f4ne will be sufficient for their needs and those of other uses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis project will require an extremely small amount of water, around ten cubic metres per second. And the projections we made at the end of the century show that the amount of water we will have in the Rh\u00f4ne will be sufficient to ensure the cooling of our reactors and guarantee the various uses,\u201d explains Pierre-Franck Thom\u00e9-Jassaud, director of the Bugey public debate at EDF.<\/p>\n<p>Tensions over water are expected to intensify in the future with growing demand for drinking water, industry, agriculture and nuclear power.<\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>            Water is becoming scarcer in many places, even in Switzerland. What\u2019s the situation where you live?        <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-debate-card__text\">\n<p>                Water is becoming scarcer in many parts of the world. What are you doing to save water?\n        <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-debate-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/climate-solutions\/water-is-becoming-scarcer-in-many-places-even-in-switzerland-what-s-the-situation-where-you-live\/48614654\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>             View the discussion<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Adapted from French by DeepL\/mga<\/p>\n<p>How we work<\/p>\n<p>We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.<\/p>\n<p>Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey below to help us understand your needs.<\/p>\n<p><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/about-us\/the-swiplus-app-your-connection-to-switzerland\/46766802?utm_campaign=Swiss-Abroad&amp;utm_source=swi&amp;utm_medium=ENG&amp;utm_id=Traffic&amp;utm_product=SWIplus&amp;utm_term=o\" class=\"adv-link\" aria-label=\"A smartphone displays the SWIplus app with news for Swiss citizens abroad. Next to it, a red banner with the text: \u2018Stay connected with Switzerland\u2019 and a call to download the app.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SWIplus_popup-eng.jpg\" alt=\"A smartphone displays the SWIplus app with news for Swiss citizens abroad. Next to it, a red banner with the text: \u2018Stay connected with Switzerland\u2019 and a call to download the app.\"   width=\"880\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>        Articles in this story    <\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/e42cb555bc1ae1b5e6db3af6325a4bc21e8fe5f7-89414874.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"Zermatt: 3 of the 5 climbers found dead have been identified\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Three Swiss avalanche victims are identified    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 27, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Three of five people killed in an avalanche near to the Swiss resport of Zermatt have been identified.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/zermatt-3-of-the-5-climbers-found-dead-have-been-identified\/89416088?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Three Swiss avalanche victims are identified<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/3ace6fd38461dfcf7ebc593a5b4eb808ced09773-89413049.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"Canton Uri regulates the use of roller skis on public roads\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Swiss canton regulates use of roller skis on public roads    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Roller skiing is now permitted on certain stretches of road in canton Uri, central Switzerland, which has revised the rules for this endurance sport on public roads.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/canton-uri-regulates-the-use-of-roller-skis-on-public-roads\/89413562?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Swiss canton regulates use of roller skis on public roads<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/db337e7dd32de6662c8641c1c3be25e542feb204-89411404.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"Swiss researchers decode defence trick of cholera strain\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Swiss researchers discover how cholera strain outwits viruses    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) have discovered that a certain strain of cholera has in-built immune systems.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/swiss-researchers-decode-defence-trick-of-cholera-strain\/89411595?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Swiss researchers discover how cholera strain outwits viruses<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/97ddc4fa5ad0a9213c4d5a6a738f20172d75be03-89411443.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"No Swiss flights to Tel Aviv until 15 June\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        No SWISS flights to Tel Aviv until June 15    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) will continue not to fly to Tel Aviv in Israel until mid-June, given the security situation in the Middle East.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/no-swiss-flights-to-tel-aviv-until-15-june\/89411596?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: No SWISS flights to Tel Aviv until June 15<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/e37f2ce43370984120eefa3805348682c020876e-89410910.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"New Federal Councillor Pfister sets the course for security policy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        New Swiss defence minister sets course for security policy    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Developing Swiss security policy strategically, strengthening the army&#8217;s defence capabilities and consolidating trust in the defence ministry: these are the priorities for the new defence minister, Martin Pfister.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/new-federal-councillor-pfister-sets-the-course-for-security-policy\/89411103?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: New Swiss defence minister sets course for security policy<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/5ed1a3fdfd11612687395a4dd6bf609dd67b4ac0-89411059.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"First lynx offspring in over 25 years at Goldau Zoo\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        First lynx offspring in over 25 years at Goldau zoo    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Female lynx Matra gave birth to at least two cubs at Goldau Zoo almost a fortnight ago.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/first-lynx-offspring-in-over-25-years-at-goldau-zoo\/89411105?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: First lynx offspring in over 25 years at Goldau zoo<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/44e4e1b5e4a7185cb9295e7de8bdcbe2519399e1-89407437.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"Head teacher puts early French up for discussion\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Top teacher questions early French in Swiss schools    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                Following the results on pupils&#8217; language skills, the president of the umbrella organisation of Swiss teachers says the teaching of French to young children needs to be discussed.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/head-teacher-puts-early-french-up-for-discussion\/89410498?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Top teacher questions early French in Swiss schools<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/521646825_highres.jpg\" width=\"1300\" height=\"867\" alt=\"Elderly couple\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Older Swiss often look for new forms of housing \u2013 and fail    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                When their children move out, many Swiss people are ready for new forms of housing but often can\u2019t find what they are looking for.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/older-swiss-often-look-for-new-forms-of-housing-and-fail\/89410766?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Older Swiss often look for new forms of housing \u2013 and fail<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05bf47103f7bfa20999bd0d3ff13f9bfc1289f06-89410447.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"Four infants die after abuse in 2024\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Four infants died from abuse in Switzerland last year    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                In 2024, four infants died in Switzerland as a result of maltreatment.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/four-infants-die-after-abuse-in-2024\/89410497?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Four infants died from abuse in Switzerland last year<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/61f71996f3bbd617c676f2acbb6aa5c9992f3046-89409464.jpg\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"Nine billion kilograms of rubble lie on the Birch Glacier\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Nine billion kilograms of rubble lie on Birch Glacier    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        May 26, 2025                    <\/p>\n<p>                The Birch Glacier above Blatten in the L\u00f6tschental valley, canton Valais, is causing the most concern among experts.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/various\/nine-billion-kilograms-of-rubble-lie-on-the-birch-glacier\/89410496?utm_source=multiple&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=news_en&amp;utm_content=o&amp;utm_term=wpblock_news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Nine billion kilograms of rubble lie on Birch Glacier<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Switzerland and France share the waters of Lake Geneva Keystone \/ Stf Listen to the article Listening the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[3907,59407,34903,728,2000,299,36,1501,285,34904],"class_list":{"0":"post-135500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-beat-climate-solutions","10":"tag-content-from-srf","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-eu","13":"tag-europe","14":"tag-france","15":"tag-latest-news","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-rts-and-rsi"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114578962877522302","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}