(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A day of student demonstrations got under way in Switzerland on Wednesday, culminating in a large rally in Bern. This content was published on October 1, 2025 - 16:50 3 minutes Keystone-SDA

• Français fr Plus de 37'000 signatures contre la hausse des frais de scolarité Original Read more: Plus de 37'000 signatures contre la hausse des frais de scolarite

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

In Lausanne, around 150 people gathered on the university (UNIL) campus at midday.

The Swiss Students' Union (UNES) organised the demonstration in the heart of the Swiss capital to oppose the planned cuts to education. At the same time, a petition with 35,000 signatures was to be submitted to the Federal Chancellery.

Various actions, supported by the unions and involving students and researchers, were also planned in Zurich, Basel, Lucerne, Lausanne, Geneva and Neuchâtel.

Around 150 people gathered in Lausanne and demonstrated on the university campus at around midday to voice their opposition to the budget cuts being made both by the federal government and the State of Vaud. The 2026 budget presented a week ago by the cantonal government envisages savings of around CHF20 million for the university of Lausanne.

The cuts announced represent a reduction of around 7% in the university's budget. According to the FAE, this will result in“a weakening of research, a deterioration in the quality of teaching and a decline in UNIL's reputation in Switzerland and beyond”.

The FAE is calling on the Grand Council to reject the cuts proposed by the Senate in order to“guarantee funding that is equal to the challenges, for the future of UNIL and the community”.

Zurich demo

Students and researchers also gathered in Zurich to demonstrate at midday in the streets of the city centre in response to a call from the SSP union and student associations. Nearly 700 people took to the streets of Zurich, the union told Keystone-ATS.

According to the SSP, cuts in research and education threaten Switzerland as a scientific centre. They risk leading to a doubling of student fees, which would restrict access to higher education to those who are already privileged.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools 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.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at ... .

External Content Related Stories Popular Stories More Swiss diplomacy 50 years of the Helsinki Accords: Switzerland's role between the blocs Read more: 50 years of the Helsinki Accords: Switzerland's role between the blocs

MENAFN01102025000210011054ID1110138170