A quarter of the French-speaking population has already had dealings with the Prosecution Office. Fearing many people, this type of situation is increasing due to inflation, the increase in rents and the explosion in health premiums. The debt trap is never far away.
In 20 years, prosecution procedures have almost doubled in Switzerland. The increase is even more marked in recent years. The number of payment orders jumped by 10% in 2023, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Now, one in eight people live with payment arrears on a daily basis.
>> Read also: Nearly half of the Swiss population lives with some form of debt
The phenomenon affects all French-speaking cantons, where more and more people are imprisoned for life by prosecutions. In the premises of the Prosecution Office of the Friborg district of Gruyère, around fifteen civil servants are drowning in work. Head of department for 25 years, Pascal Lauber is concerned about these recent developments.
There are people, couples who work full time but who do not earn enough. You have to open your eyes. It exists in Switzerland!
“La Gruyère has 58,000 inhabitants and 24,000 prosecutions filed per year. In 2024, at the end of August, we were at a 12% increase. So I think we will still beat all records” at the end of the year, he warns in the show Mise au Point.
“There are people, couples where both work full time but don’t earn enough,” he continues. “With the cost of living increasing every year on things that we cannot control, these people, instead of being on the right side of the fence, fall on the wrong side. We have to open our eyes. It exists in Switzerland sometimes we tend to forget it!”
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A breakup, then the spiral
A building designer, Annabelle found herself thrown into a spiral of debt by a separation. She then has to move in alone with her daughter.
“It started from there. All alone, even with a more or less decent salary, all it takes is an unexpected event, rent to be paid alone, buying furniture, and the gap widens,” testifies – she said.
>> Read also: Over-indebtedness, a scourge rarely due to imprudent management
This resident of Cornol (JU) opens her mailbox every day with a lump in her stomach: “When I see the piles of mail, I know exactly what’s in them.” Bills, reminders, warnings and lawsuits pile up over the months. La Jurassienne now has around 21,000 francs in debt, mainly claimed by health insurance and taxes.
The weight of the stigma
His apartment bears witness to a life of resourcefulness. Lots of recovery, second hand, and DIY meals to cost as little as possible. And in front of the cameras, his dignified smile hides a deep sadness which is sometimes rooted in the discomfort of those close to him. “Typically, I went shopping with a friend… She told me that it hurt her heart to go shopping with me, to see me counting all the pennies while she could take what “she wanted,” she says.
My dream is just to liquidate my debts. Earn 22,000 francs to resolve my situation. I don’t need anything else. I’m not asking for the moon, I wouldn’t have any use for it
Annabelle continues to fight for herself and for her daughter Angela. The 15-year-old schoolgirl learned to live in precariousness and to overcome the gaze of others. “Sometimes, it’s complicated. With the style of clothing for example, we don’t necessarily have money to buy nice shoes. So at the beginning, people gave me some thoughts,” she says. “Now I’m getting through it a bit. It’s clothes, eh, that doesn’t make a person.”
The bare minimum to try to get by
The teenager is combative and convinced that her mother will manage to resolve her situation. “She worked a lot and she still works a lot so that we can have fun, despite the fact that we don’t necessarily have the means for everything,” she says.
As for Annabelle, she only aspires to one day escape from the prison of prosecution. “My dream is just to liquidate my debts. To earn 22,000 francs to settle my situation. To be ‘normal’, to be able to put money aside and go on vacation. I don’t need anything else . I’m not asking for the moon, I wouldn’t have any use for it,” she concludes.
But on a salary of 3,500 francs, the Prosecution Office only leaves him with the subsistence minimum, enough to pay rent, food and obligatory charges. The rest is seized. And despite tight budgets drawn up with his advisor at Caritas, Ajoulote has little chance of getting by in these conditions.
You may even lose your job, because some employers require their employees to be debt-free
Few political solutions on the horizon
Head of the consultation and support department at Caritas Jura, where requests for aid are also reaching new records, Estelle Kambert denounces the growing discrimination which affects people who are victims of prosecution. “You cannot find accommodation. You cannot change your telephone subscription. You cannot order on certain websites. You cannot change health insurance if you have not paid your premiums”, lists -she.
“And then you can even lose your job, because some employers require that their employees have no debt. And if you are looking for a new job, it is very complicated because many employers ask for an extract from the Office prosecutions,” she continues.
Several bills are currently being examined by the Federal Council to find solutions to the debt trap, but there is still a long way to go.
>> Also listen to the advice from the show “On en parole”:
Focus Report: Jérôme Galichet
Adaptation web: Pierrik Jordan
