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Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and France have traditionally been close, notably through important economic and cultural exchanges.
Contents
Switzerland and France, which is part of the European Union, share about 600 km of border (prompting strong cross-border cooperation) and a language (French is one of Switzerland's four official languages).
History
In 1516, France and Switzerland signed a Treaty of Perpetual Peace (« paix perpétuelle »). A military treaty was signed in 1521.
France has been appointing ambassadors to Switzerland since the 16th century and Switzerland's first representation abroad, in 1798, was in French capital Paris (closely followed by a consulate in Bordeaux). By the end of the 19th century, the only country with a legation in the Swiss capital Bern was France.
As of 2015, there were four state visits of Presidents of France in Switzerland: Armand Fallières in August 1910, François Mitterrand on 14-15 April 1983, Jacques Chirac in 1998 and François Hollande on 15-16 April 2015.
Economy
194,000 Swiss people live in France; it is the most important Swiss community outside Switzerland. 163,000 French people live in Switzerland; it is the most important French community outside France. 150,000 French nationals cross the border to work in Switzerland, half of all foreign cross-border commuters.
France is Switzerland's third largest trading partner (after Germany and Italy) and the two are integrated economically via Swiss treaties with the European Union. Switzerland is also part of the Schengen Area which abolishes international borders between member states.