Sawt Falasteen - Tight security for G7 summit at Lake Geneva resort

Memories endure of a 2003 summit in the well-heeled spa town on the French side of Lake Geneva, which saw violence and extensive damage in the nearby Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne.

Evian, wedged between Lake Geneva and the Alps, poses particular security challenges.

Geneva Airport is the main arrival point for incoming leaders ahead of the three-day summit starting Monday, while some delegations are basing themselves in Switzerland.

US army Chinook helicopters could be seen at the airport on Thursday.

French authorities are handling the immediate protection layer around the summit, with reinforced security zones covering Evian, nearby Thonon-les-Bains and the main transport routes.

Nearly 16,000 French police, gendarmes, troops, firefighters and border guards will be deployed, using boats, motorcycles and drones, alongside mounted police and dog-handling units, the Haute-Savoie regional prefecture said.

According to government prefect Emmanuelle Dubee, the deployment aims to address "the risk linked to the extremely tense international context", the "terror threat, which remains high in France", the "risk of sabotage and cyber-attacks", and "public order disturbances".

On Thursday, General Marc Le Bouil, in charge of security for the summit, told AFP that about 300 air force personnel would establish a protective "bubble" against any aerial threat.

French and Swiss "aircraft, radar systems, surface-to-air defence systems and anti-drone systems" will be deployed on each side of the border.

- Swiss deploying troops -

At the end of the lake, Geneva is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Evian.

Switzerland has approved the deployment of 2,000-5,000 military personnel to "support" the cantonal police.

Around 4,000 Swiss troops will be on duty on land, on Lake Geneva and in the air, coordinating with the French military.

For French and Swiss residents alike the summit will mean traffic restrictions, border closures, increased security checks and tight restrictions on the right to protest.

Both countries want to avoid a recurrence of 2003, when tens of thousands of anti-globalisation protesters demonstrated against the G8 summit held in Evian.

Groups rioted, looted and clashed with police in Lausanne and Geneva, causing millions of dollars of damage.

Since then, cross-border police and intelligence cooperation has been strengthened, but the trauma still haunts minds in Geneva, where a demonstration will be held Sunday.

- Protest route 'absurd' -

"Geneva must not become the capital of rioters," said Francois Baertschi, president of the Geneva Citizens' Movement political party and a member of the cantonal parliament.

Geneva authorities are permitting a demonstration by the "No-G7" coalition -- which brings together more than 60 organisations -- the day before the Evian summit begins.

The lengthy, amended loop route set out by the authorities keeps protesters on the north side of the lake, away from the city centre.

"The new route is still absurd, since it goes through streets with shops and cars, whereas we wanted to march along the lakefront, but it is acceptable," said No-G7 member Francoise Nyffeler.

Nyffeler told AFP she had "given in a lot to the authorities" to reach an agreement on the route.

Though the anti-globalisation movement has lost momentum in recent years, and protest organisers are insisting on peaceful action, the authorities are wary of infiltration by radical groups.

Many Geneva retailers have already begun boarding up their shop fronts -- even those well off the demonstration route.

"We are doing everything we can to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible," Swiss President Guy Parmelin told the Geneva Press Club in May, highlighting much bigger security deployment than in 2003.

"Things should turn out differently, although we can never rule out the unexpected," he said.

Geneva's security minister Carole-Anne Kast told reporters on Thursday: "We have large-scale demonstrations almost every week in Geneva. We know how to secure a route; there aren’t too many concerns about that."

Due to conditions imposed by French authorities, the No-G7 coalition has abandoned plans for a counter-summit and demonstration in the French border town of Annemasse on Sunday.

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST