November 1932 Geneva shooting

On the afternoon and evening of 9 November 1932, Swiss Army troops fired live ammunition into a crowd of anti-fascist counter-protesters in the Plainpalais district of Geneva, killing 13 people and wounding 65. The shooting occurred against a backdrop of rising political violence between far-right and far-left movements in Europe, economic crisis, and unemployment. In Geneva specifically, the fascist Union nationale party, led by Georges Oltramare, had grown in influence and clashed repeatedly with the Socialist Party of Geneva, led by Léon Nicole, and its allied Workers' Unions.

The immediate trigger was a Union nationale-organized "mock trial" against Socialist leaders Nicole and Jacques Dicker, scheduled for the evening of 9 November at the communal hall in Plainpalais. Despite objections from the Socialist Party, authorities allowed the event to proceed. Socialist and Communist militants organized a counter-protest, and by late afternoon 4,000 to 5,000 counter-protesters had gathered. Citing insufficient police personnel, the Conseil d'État of Geneva deployed army recruits from a Lausanne boot camp — soldiers with only about six weeks of training — under Major Ernest Léderrey, Major Perret, and First Lieutenant Raymond Burnat. Recruits were told a "revolution" was underway and issued live ammunition.

As a company of soldiers retreated toward the communal hall, they were cornered against the facade of the Palais des expositions by protesters. At 9:34 PM, on orders from First Lieutenant Burnat with approval from Major Perret, the troops opened fire with rifles and an automatic weapon for approximately 12 seconds. Ten people were killed immediately — mostly bystanders rather than militants — with three more later dying of their injuries, bringing the death toll to 13, and 65 others wounded. Among the dead was Henri Furst, president of the Communist Party of Geneva.

In the aftermath, an official military inquiry released on 22 November 1932 found no grounds to open penal proceedings against the officers involved, concluding the troops had fired only when forced to. However, Major Léderrey acknowledged in his own report that recruits were unsuited for such policing tasks. A 1996 Federal Military Library report stated that officials had "overestimated the seriousness of the events" and ordered fire. A trial opened in May 1933 against left-wing figures accused of inciting the riot; seven defendants, including Nicole, were convicted of incitement and given prison sentences of up to six months (four months for most, six for Nicole).

The event triggered a partially observed general strike on 12 November 1932 and had lasting political consequences, including the 1934 rejection of a Federal law on public order and a split within the Swiss Socialist movement over national defense policy. It marked the last time Swiss troops were deployed to quell domestic public unrest. A commemorative monument was unveiled in 1982 and relocated to the exact site of the shooting, in front of the University of Geneva, following a 2008 decision by the State Council of Geneva.