Lancy: a Swiss ridge has watered the campaign against “zero pub”

On November 24, 2024, the inhabitants of Lancy, the third city in the canton of Geneva, chose to ban the commercial display From their public space, after a stormy campaign, marked by charges of lies in both camps. One day of defeat for referees, the group Le Center-les Vert’libéraux, but also for the association “Living well in Lancy”, which had led the campaign in favor of “no”.

However, the financial means were there. This is what the “Tribune de Genève” discovered by consulting the campaign accounts. To convince the voters, the association “Living well in Lancy” spent 73,844 francs. Or 27 times more than their opponents, the PS and the Greens, whose cumulative charges amount to 2736 francs.

This jackpot, the association owes Le à AWS Outdoor Swiss advertising, association based in Zurich. This national postage of commercial advertising paid 73,450 francs to live well in Lancy, which also benefited from a donation of 600 francs from the center. A big budget, therefore, for the first municipal vote in Lancy in fifteen years.

“Disproportionate amounts”

An usual expense for the ridge? “We are not commenting on the figures,” retorts Nadja Mühlemann, spokesperson for AWS. Our commitment reflects the importance that we give to a nuanced public debate on advertising prohibitions, including at the municipal level. Our goal is to contribute to all the arguments objectively heard. ”

Matthieu Jotterand, socialist deputy for the Grand Council and head of the Lancerian section of the PS at the time of the vote, considers on the contrary that by acting thus, the ridge has unbalanced the political debate. “Advertising lobbies are visibly ready to put up amounts completely disproportionate to the financial power of local parties.”

And this is not the first time that these lobbies have been involved in municipal affairs. As revealed “Time “ At the launch of the referendum, another scheme of commercial communication, KS/CS Communication Switzerland, had been talked about by offering itself the INCOP services for the harvesting of signatures. Controversial, the Lausanne company was then at the heart of a scandal for suspicions of paraphs’ foulifications.

Display offered

So what was AWS money for? By plunging into details, we discover that with this envelope, the Bien Vivre association in Lancy notably spent 56,000 francs for various “mandates”. Asked about their nature, the president of the association, David-Alex Küng, also vice-president of the Lancy Center since June 2025, did not wish to give more information.

Communication costs, which include advertising costs, display and publication in newspapers, amount to more than 13,500 francs. But the association indicates that it has not spent a penny to expose its positions in public space. However, during the campaign, several signs on the municipal territory invited the population to vote no. “The SGA, which owns display panels in the town, has offered us some locations,” says David-Alex Küng.

It is indeed the APG-SGA company which had the display concession for nearly 170 advertising supports distributed in the city of Lancy. A new agreement had also been signed between the company and the municipality for the period 2025-2030. APG-SGA, “leader in Switzerland” according to its website, is also a member of the AWS scheme.

On the left, we wonder. “Interfere in a popular vote when we are the beneficiary of a public concession is in my opinion democratically questionable,” says Matthieu Jotterand.

Convention respected

Arrested in April by the Grand Council On a possible “abuse of concession” and a possible “distortion of competition”, the Council of State and the Chancellery consider that, during the vote, “the distribution of the display was scrupulously respected”, while specifying that they do not have information on the political display for private purposes.

A written question was also asked by the Lancy Municipal Council to the Administrative Council. The latter considers that the agreement has not been flouted. “We have consulted our lawyer and legally, there is nothing to complain about,” explains the administrative advisor Damien Bonfanti. It is even quite natural than a company, attacked on its market, invests in defending itself. But one can wonder about the political ethics of certain parties which are supposed to work for the municipality and not for the interests of a society. ”

Solicited on these offered locations and its involvement in the political campaign, the APG-SGA company, however specialist in communication, did not wish to comment. It refers to the responses we have received from the AWS spokesperson, also responsible for communication from the SGA.

But despite the means committed, the association “Living well in Lancy” was losing the vote. With 200 votes, as David-Alex Küng reminds us: “The PLR had not taken a stand, which probably penalized us. Another factor is that citizens tend to trust the authorities who had clearly positioned themselves. Finally, is it not healthy that the budgets engaged in a vote do not determine its outcome? ”

“It is true that, the only positive point in this story is that we will remember that money does not buy everything,” adds Matthieu Jotterand. For once, opponents and supporters of advertising seem to agree.

Zero ad, where are we?

Nine months after the vote, some lanchers and Lanceen are surprised to see advertisements in their public space. Most of the posters have been withdrawn but the 170 virgin supports have not yet been dismantled, informs the magistrate Damien Bonfanti: “We are waiting for the Federal Court to decide on the appeals against the regulations.”

Indeed, the judges of Mon-Repos were seized by several companies or private, including the Club Servette FC. The highest legal body in the canton will notably have to rule on the commercial display on a private domain, visible from the public domain. While waiting for the court to clarify the situation, the advertisements installed, for example, in the Pont-Rouge and Bachet stations but visible from the public domain, were not withdrawn.

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