Ahead of this week’s G7 annual meeting in France, activists rallied in Geneva to condemn the policies of G7 countries.
Published June 14, 2026
Thousands of protesters have gathered in Geneva ahead of this week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will bring US President Donald Trump and other world leaders to nearby France.
Sunday’s demonstrations were led by the so-called “non-G7” coalition, which is made up of more than 60 associations and organizations, including Palestinian rights activists, feminist activists and environmentalists.
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“We are very afraid of the policies and politics of Mr. Trump and the other G7 leaders, because they are fighting and starting wars everywhere,” said Francoise Niferard, a spokeswoman for the coalition.
“The planet is in danger and we are very afraid of it and want to protest that people around the world are against their policies,” she added.
Swiss and French authorities have deployed thousands of police to provide security for the three-day summit, which begins on Monday in the French resort of Evian-les-Bains.
Authorities have closed roads, banned unauthorized gatherings and promised financial support to businesses likely to be hit by the riots.
Many businesses and shops have enclosed their storefronts with wooden panels as a precaution, fearing the chaos that left a trail of damage in Geneva when a similar summit was held in Evian in 2003.
Reporting on the protests in Geneva on Sunday, Al Jazeera’s Natasha Butler said demonstrators accused the G7 of having “the sole purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer”.
“They say the rich countries club is not representative of the world’s population and that their policies and decisions are having a negative impact on the world in terms of climate, equal rights and poverty,” Butler said.
Questions about the legitimacy of the G7, which includes the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, are not new.
These countries used to account for 70 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), but that figure has shrunk to just 40 percent, but they still account for one-tenth of the world’s population.
In a sign that global power relations are changing dramatically, other global groups are also growing. The BRICS countries, which include India, Russia and China, have doubled their number of members from five to 11.
Protests regularly occur at G7 summits, but this year’s event comes amid global discontent with President Trump’s leadership on issues as diverse as tariffs, the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and the climate crisis.
Demonstrators had been gathering for several days before Sunday’s march in Geneva.
On Saturday, a flotilla of about 20 boats appeared on Lake Geneva off Evian, holding anti-G7 and pro-Palestinian banners. According to Swiss media reports, about 20 demonstrators were detained on Friday night.
