This French canton inaugurates a passage area for yeniches

The canton of Vaud and the town of Mont-sur-Lausanne inaugurated the first official passage area on Monday for the Yeniches in French-speaking Switzerland. Fruit of more than ten years of judicial approaches and battles, this project at 1.1 million francs is a model for other municipalities called to follow.

The canton of Vaud and the municipality of Mont-sur-Lausanne inaugurated a new passage place for the Yeniche community on Monday. Open from March to October, the equipped land can accommodate up to fifteen caravans and allows this recognized national minority to settle for short stays.

Reserved for Swiss Yeniches passing through Vaudois territory, the new cantonal crossing square, first of this type in French -speaking Switzerland, allows maximum stays, ensuring regular rotation between families. Fitted on a plot of the State of Vaud and open from March 1 to October 30, it makes it possible to fill in part and perpetuate the lack of reception places for Swiss travel people, in particular the 2000 to 3000 Yéniches having kept a traveling lifestyle.

“This project is the culmination of more than ten years of work,” said Vassilis Venizelos. “Seeking a field, discussing, negotiating, overcoming the sometimes lively oppositions, waiting for decisions until the Federal Court, not to mention the delays related to the Covid crisis … It took patience and tenacity,” he said, thanking the “working ankle” of this project, the former state-advisor Béatrice Métraux, presents to the inauguration.

A test phase will be carried out in the coming months. “With the rain announced at the end of the week, we will be able to see if adjustments are necessary,” he added.

Careful work

“The area that we are inaugurating today is not improvised,” noted Laurence Muller Achtari, union of Mont-sur-Lausanne. The municipality took the time to work hand in hand with the canton. If the project had provoked strong reactions during its presentation in 2018, the announcement in the municipal newspaper of the opening of the place did not arouse the shadow of a reaction, she observed, measuring the path traveled.

The elected official noted the care given to the design of the site which meets “all the requirements of sustainability, security and practicality”. She expressed the hope that this inauguration will encourage exchanges between the Yeniche community and the local population and that Mont-sur-Lausanne can serve as a model for other municipalities.

A wish shared by the chief of the DJES who “strongly encourages” other Vaudois municipalities to follow this example. Two to three additional passing areas would still be necessary in the canton for the needs of Swiss travel people. For the time being, Yverdon and Bussigny have announced “to think about it,” said the minister.

The representative of the Yeniches, Claude Barras, thanked the town and the “first Latin canton” to have created an official and lasting area for his community.

Signed agreement

An agreement was signed between the municipal and cantonal authorities in order to ensure coherent and sustainable management of the site. This text defines the responsibilities of each party, particularly in terms of safety and waste management.

A private security company is in charge of access and perception of daily taxes, which vary from 5 to 20 francs depending on the type of vehicle. These amounts will contribute to the cover of maintenance, cleanliness and site management costs. A private security company will manage access and collect taxes.

The development of the site, whose total cost amounts to 1.1 million francs, was funded by the canton of Vaud for 650,000 francs. Added to this is an aid from the Confederation in the amount of 450,000 francs.

For the record, the cantonal authorities had taken years to find this land intended for Yeniches, the first research having started in 2013. Presented to the inhabitants of the municipality in 2018, the assignment plan project had been the subject of oppositions and an appeal which failed before the Federal Court in 2021. The canton had then filed a building permit. The municipality had issued the building permit in 2022. (MBR/ATS)