Two days of music and a flea-market.
Location: Paquis
Link out: http://genevalunch.com/geneva-living/2010/09/15…
Start date: 18 Sep 2010
End date: 19 Sep 2010
Bonneteau, or shell and pea, on the streets of Geneva (photo: ©2010 Peter Brodbeck on flickr)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Police warned the public in mid-May about a popular street game scam, called bonneteau in French, “shell and pea” in English, saying that seven groups appeared to be operating.
The warning did little to stop the con men, it appears and this week the Liberal political party has been handing out flyers to warn the public about the trick, just days after the canton distributed 30,000 flyers to businesses and international organizations to alert them.
The Tribune de Geneve today carries a story explaining why the police do little to stop the trick that is a close cousin of three card monte, an older card game trick.
Police have been keeping an eye on the groups who play it, but say that it takes about half a day of plainclothes police work plus 20 officers to nab a group of six or seven and have enough solid proof that what they are doing is illegal: it isn’t a priority for their limited personnel resources, according to the Geneva newspaper.
Geneva street scam (photo ©2010 Herbi Ditl on flickr)
The police department says it runs regular checks on players as part of the Figaro police operation, particularly around Paquis and the train station.
The game is simple, according to one observer, “They hide the ball behind their thumb and so when you choose a box, there’s actually no ball under any of them. Then when they return another one to show you it was there, they can quickly release the ball again and make you believe it was there all the time! Quite good dexterity, but a real scam! And indeed, they make thousands of francs a day!”
The Geneva police department describes it this way:
A small ball is moved under three cups or match boxes and the player has to guess where the ball is at the moment when play stops. It’s a gambling trick, in other words. The player picks a box, and loses each time he or she guesses.
What is in fact happening is that the person with the ball is very quick and manages to hide the ball, not under one ofthe boxes but in his hand. He makes it reappear at just the right moment, in exactly the right place. It’s a really simple trick for an experienced magician.
They rarely accept bets of under CHF100 and these can go up to several thousand francs for one “pass”. In addition to the person with the ball there are usually three to five others involved in the game. While one of them takes care of the box two others pretend to be betting, in order to encourage bystanders to join in. Another two or three stay a dozen metres away to keep an eye out for police and signal when they spot them. They then quickly disperse and melt into the crowd.
In fact, it’s not gambling but confidence trick. A word of caution to amateur photographers: the game organizers can be threatening if you try to film or photograph them.
In France, bonneteau players reportedly risk a fine of up to €5,000 and a prison sentence, but as in Switzerland, catching them is a tricky business.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The police operation called “Figaro” has logged 1,200 hours in its first week, with 300 people brought in for questioning and 35 arrests, according to city police. The operation is designed to clean up the city centre in Geneva following a sharp increase in petty crimes in 2009. Most of those stopped were questioned about thefts and drug sales.
The greater police presence, notably with more foot patrols, covers four districts: Pâquis, Eaux-Vives, Rive and the area around Cornavin train station.
Background, GenevaLunch
Links to other sites: TSR (Fre), Tribune de Geneve (Fre)
Third update 18:15 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The waitress who was shot by a 57-year-old man Tuesday evening in Paquis, died from her wounds, Geneva police have confirmed to GenevaLunch. The man, who is British and lives in Geneva, pulled out a .357 Magnum revolver and shot the 34-year-old waitress from Senegal in the head late Tuesday night 15 September at the Good Times bar, according to 20 Minutes, on the rue de Fribourg in the Paquis district. Police say he was in an advanced state of ebriety.
According to witnesses, there was an argument over the bill. After shooting the waitress the man left, but he was intercepted by police minutes later on the corner of Rue des Alpes and the Rue de Lausanne, still in possession of the gun. He admitted to the crime.
The Geneva cantonal police reports that the man has had a permit to own the gun since 1987 but he does not have a permit to carry a gun. A permit to own gives the holder the right to transport the arm from his home to a shooting stand, unloaded. It is given after a background check. A permit to carry a gun is given to someone who can reasonably justify that he needs to protect himself, and only following a practical and theoretical test. It must be renewed every year, according to the police.
Title: Music at dawn
Location: Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: Wake up, early, really early, and head to the Bains des Paquis to listen to music at dawn. The one hour concert begins at 06:00 (6 am that is).
Start Date: 03 Aug 2009
End Date: 13 Sep 2009
Title: Tai-Chi by the Lake
Location: Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: This is an almost-free Tai-Chi session that takes place every Sunday of the year. From June to September the class is from 09:15 to 10:15 and from May to October from 10:00-11:00. During the summer months you pay the CHF2 fee to get in the Bains des Paquis. The rest of the year entry is free. A donation of CHF20 for the year is encouraged.
Start Date: 03 Aug 2009
End Date: 27 Dec 2009
Title: The library to the street
Location: Geneva
Description: During two weeks, the Paquis library moves to the street. Books and games will be available to children of all ages from 14:00 to 17:00 Monday through Friday.
17 Rue du Mole
1201 Geneva
Tel: +41 (0) 22 900 05 82
Take bus #1 (Navigation), or trams 13 or 15 (Môle).
Start Date: 03 Aug 2009
End Date: 21 Aug 2009
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva police swooped down on the colourful Paquis district Friday evening 5 June, the fourth time in a month, in an ongoing operation to clear the streets of petty crime.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) — The ongoing sense of insecurity in the colourful Geneva district of Paquis provoked a lively debate between inhabitants and local politicians on TSR’s Infrarouge (Fre) programme Tuesday, 19 May. The problem of drug dealers and pickpockets, many of them illegal immigrants or squatters, who are arrested but released, contributes to the sense of impotence felt by the area’s inhabitants, argued some residents.
Geneva, Switzerland (20 Minutes) – Police descended on Pâquis, a colourful district in Geneva, for the third time since Wednesday 6 May. They sealed off the rue de Fribourg and the rue de Neuchâtel 13 May at 22:00, according to 20 Minutes, and checked IDs of passers-by. The police took 55 people for questioning, and four people were held. Pâquis residents have been complaining for months that drug dealers and pickpockets infest the area. One resident is quoted by 20 Minutes as saying that things were already back to normal a few hours after the police operation.
Geneva, Switzerland (TSR, Fre with photos, Tribune de Geneve, Fre) – Police in Geneva are investigating an odd incident Sunday. Two burglars broke into a clothing store at 34, rue de Paquis, just as the owner dropped by, and a fire in the store, as well as the hairdresser’s next door, led to a major blaze within minutes.
Annemasse, France (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) – A 42-year-old man on trial in Annemasse, France, over the border from Geneva, told a court Monday that it took only seconds for a domestic argument to turn to violence in June 2007 when he murdered his wife, then put her body in a sleeping bag and tried to hide it in a swamp.
Geneva, Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre) – Residents in Paquis in Geneva are following the lead of those in Carouge, signing petitions to have outdoor cafes close at midnight during the week. The noise level is too high, say neighbours. Carouge bars were forced at the start of the 2007 summer to close earlier during the week after the Federal Court in Lausanne ruled in favour of the residents with petitions.
