Fr., März 8th 2024
Vaud cantonal police block 60 caravans in Lausanne, preventing potential unauthorized encampments.
In the canton of Vaud, another conflict with a group of caravans is looming. On Thursday afternoon, police blocked around 60 caravans at the gates of Lausanne to prevent them from driving into the city.
A spokesperson for the Vaud cantonal police confirmed this on Thursday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. Around 30 caravans were stopped in the south of the city before the Maladière exit, and another 30 in the north near Chalet-à-Gobet.
The spokesperson added that “some” of these caravans were “discovered” at the customs office in Bardonnex GE around midday. The destination of the travelers is not known.
However, the spokesperson considered it “conceivable” that they wanted to head for the La Bourdonnette parking lot, where around 120 caravans belonging to travellers from France had already been parked without prior authorization between February and September 2023.
Last year, there were conflicts in various places in the canton of Vaud with people on the move from abroad. The official site in Rennaz was quickly overcrowded. In addition to Lausanne, there were also illegal caravan settlements in Yverdon, Penthalaz, Echallens, Aclens and Noville, which led to disputes with the authorities.
In order to avoid such a situation this year, the cantonal government of Vaud announced new measures some time ago. In particular, it appointed a delegate to act as a “coordinator and mediator” between the authorities and the travelers.
In addition, the cantonal government had stated that it was looking for sites that were suitable for small groups of caravans in order to avoid large gatherings of caravans, which could become a burden for the population and the environment.
The canton also stated that several locations had been identified for the 2024 season, but did not provide any further details. Talks were being held with the municipalities, it had said.
©Keystone/SDA
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