After a Palestine rally in Bern, the federal government should stipulate that organizers of demonstrations pay for police operations. The Federal Council now has to draw up a law that it itself rejected. In Switzerland, police are the responsibility of the cantons - and they have been regulating the issue for a long time, but very differently.

Anyone who talks about demonstrations in Switzerland is talking about 26 legal systems. Public safety is a matter for the cantons; each has its own police law. The federal government only takes action here where the constitution gives it jurisdiction. Cantons and municipalities decide whether a rally is approved and who pays for a police operation. That makes it all the more remarkableDecisionof the Federal Parliament on September 24th: It wants a Swiss-wide basis for organizers of demonstrations to have to bear security and intervention costs in whole or in part.

According to the applicants, the trigger was October 11, 2025. Around 8,000 people came to an unauthorized pro-Palestine rally in Bern, according toCity governmentmostly peaceful. However, from the Swiss state's perspective, the end result is: 18 police officers injured, 57 buildings damaged, and the operation cost around1.1 million francs.

Demonstrators describe the evening differently. Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets and held 536 people in a cauldron for hours. An alliance of around 40 collectives accuses it of “unbridled brutality” and speaks of 326 injuries. The police knew of two injuries, but the local council could not confirm the higher number. Amnesty Switzerland called the deployment unjustified and excessive. Proceedings are underway against demonstrators and police members.

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What Parliament has decided

It was brought inFinancial supportthe Valais centrist National Councilor Sidney Kamerzin. The National Council approved in March with 119 to 64, the Council of States now narrowly with 24 to 18 with three abstentions. The Council of States adopted a similar motion from Charles Juillard (center) in March. In the National Council, the security commission recommends a no. The Federal Council must now submit a draft law, which Parliament will decide on again - a referendum is possible.

The order is short: organizers should “have to bear the costs in whole or in part”. According to the justification, anyone who does not take appropriate security measures should pay - for unauthorized demos as well as for approved demos where security regulations are ignored. Violence is not a requirement.

The Federal Council rejected it: order during demonstrations is the core of cantonal police sovereignty, and a federal rule contradicts the principle of subsidiarity. In the case of unauthorized rallies, the cantons could already impose the costs on the organizers. Green Councilor of States Mathias Zopfisaidin the debate: “No canton has asked for this solution.”

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What already applies in the cantons

Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn and Zug have similar models: If violence occurs, costs can be charged from the start of the riots - to organizers only if they did not have a permit or violated requirements, to participants according to their individual contribution to the crime, usually capped at 30,000 francs. Valais charges for unauthorized demonstrations250 francsper police officer and hour, with no upper limit. The organizer of a banned onePalestine demonstrationin Sion, which had no injuries or property damage, received bills totaling more than 100,000 francs.

The courts set limits. In 2017 the Federal Court overturneda Lucerne rule, which should distribute the costs equally among all those involved in the violence. The more nuanced Bern rule confirmed it in 2020. In Zurich, a tightening that was approved by the people in 2024 has been formally in force since January, but has been blocked because oneComplaintreceived suspensive effect before the Federal Court. In any case, Bern only charges after legally binding criminal convictions. In Basel-Stadt, the population will vote on September 27th on an SVP initiative that wants to pass on police costs for unauthorized demonstrations to “troublemakers”. It is only supported by the SVP and FDP.

Palestine solidarity as a reason for repression

Palestine Solidarity has been regularly bringing thousands onto the streets in Switzerland since October 2023. According to its own information, a national umbrella organization already had around 80 organizations at the beginning of 2024. Bern 2025 showed how differently it can be dealt with: an approved rally by national associations in June remained peaceful, also thanks to its own security service. Others, like those in October, were rounded up and beaten.

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The call for October 11th came anonymously. According to Der Bund, he justified the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 as resistance, and the organizers of the June demo distanced themselves. However, the canton police made explicit calls for violencenot solid. It was shared by Students for Palestine and Bern for Palestine as well as by revolutionary youth groups and the Bern climate strike. The city searched in vain for those responsible for a permit.

The movement then criticized the authorities: the Solidarity with Palestine alliance, which includes Students for Palestine, the Labor Party and BDS, called for an independent investigation and complained about one-sided reporting. The Jusos condemned the violence of “some of the demonstrators and the police”. The Collectif Valais Palestine is most clear on the question of costs: its representative Gaël Ribordy calls the Valais bill abusive and dissuasive and wants to challenge it as much as possible.

Amnesty Switzerlandwarns, the cost risk alone deters people from protesting. The protection also applies to peaceful, unauthorized demonstrations. The Democratic lawyers believe the motions are unnecessary because violence and damage could already be prosecuted today. In August, Basel showed where the authorities draw the line: the police declared a demonstration under the slogan “Death to Zionism” to be non-compliant with fundamental rights because of explicit calls for violence and prevented the move. There is another unauthorized demonstration in Bern on October 11, 2026announced. This year too, the organizers have not yet registered with the police.

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Conclusion: dispute over responsibility, rather than the principle

It is unclear whether the motion will become law. The Federal Council has to write a draft that it rejects, and the National Council commission has opposed the parallel motion. What is striking is how the opponents in the government and parliament argue. The Federal Council does not deny that costs can be passed on, but refers to the cantons. The minority of the Council of States Commission sees no need because the cantons could issue such rules themselves and some have done so.

The debate is less about whether than about who - and according to the Federal Council, even the desired standardization would remain piecemeal because approval, requirements and operational management remain with the cantons. In addition, there was no one in Bern to whom you could send an invoice. For the time being, the question will continue to be decided in the cantons - in Basel at the ballot box, in Zurich before the Federal Court, in Valais in the appeal process.

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