Relationship dossier
France
Switzerland
Relationship assessment
Close cross-border cooperation, alongside recurring disputes over taxation and cross-border workers.
France toward Switzerland
+45The French government cooperates with Switzerland through bilateral arrangements for cross-border police, customs and judicial work, and through practical coordination on shared-border issues. Disagreements over taxation and cross-border workers have periodically complicated relations.
Switzerland toward France
+45The Swiss government cooperates with France through bilateral arrangements for cross-border police, customs and judicial work, and practical coordination on shared-border issues. Taxation and cross-border worker policies have been recurring sources of disagreement.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship is underpinned by durable cooperation on policing, customs, justice and shared-border affairs. Recurring disputes, particularly over taxation and cross-border workers, create friction, but the broad pattern remains one of substantial practical cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
France and Switzerland maintain close, practical cooperation shaped by their shared border. Their governments have established arrangements for cross-border police, customs and judicial cooperation, alongside cooperation on transport and cross-border matters. Taxation and the treatment of cross-border workers have also generated recurring disagreements, but these have not displaced the broader pattern of cooperation.
Areas of tension
- Tax treatment and exchange of financial information
- Taxation and social arrangements affecting cross-border workers
Key developments
France and Switzerland concluded a bilateral agreement providing for cross-border cooperation in police, customs and judicial matters.
Major uncertainties
- The current implementation and scope of cross-border policing and judicial arrangements are unclear.
- The extent to which recent tax and cross-border worker disputes affect day-to-day government cooperation is uncertain.