“We will never be able to compete without a lake”: Val-de-Travers puts a ranking of municipalities into perspective – rts.ch

Quality of life, supply, low taxes and security are among the 51 factors taken into account by the consultant Iazi for his study on the quality of Swiss municipalities carried out every two years for the HandelsZeitung. Also included are real estate prices, the location and the supply of schools, reception facilities and shops.

Of the 954 municipalities taken into account, i.e. all those with more than 2,000 inhabitants, those in central Switzerland continue to monopolize the top places. There are 12 in the top 20, including Meggen (LU), on the shores of Lake Lucerne, which comes out on top.

It is true that the proximity of a lake seems to weigh heavily, particularly around this latter and those of Zurich, Zug, or Lake Geneva.

Four Lake Geneva municipalities in the top 50

Lutry (VD) is the best-placed French-speaking commune, in 13th place. The only three other French-speaking communes ranked in the top 50 are also located on the shores of or not far from Lake Geneva: Pregny-Chambésy (GE) 37th, Genolier (VD) 44th and Mies (VD) 45th.

You can analyse whatever you want from your office in Zurich or Bern, but then there is life on the ground.

The French-speaking municipalities are doing a little better than two years ago, when none of them appeared in the top 50. Pregny-Chambésy was then in 63rd place and Lutry in 95th place. There are slightly more of them (9) this year between 50th and 100th place, most of them also close to Lake Geneva, with the exception of Crans (VS), 72nd, and Servion (VD), 95th.

Lastly, Val-de-Travers puts things into perspective

However, Romandie is very present at the bottom of the ranking, with the last three places occupied by Le Locle (NE), 952nd, Chamoson (VS), 953rd, and Val-de-Travers (NE), 954th.

We take this with humor, because we may be last this year and elsewhere in the ranking next year.

Interviewed on Friday in La Matinale, Benoît Simon-Vermot, vice-president of the Neuchâtel commune, believes that this ranking should be put into perspective: “When we look at the criteria that are used, we will never be able to compete with a commune that has a lake: we can analyse what we want from our office in Zurich or Bern, but then there is life on the ground. French-speaking Switzerland in general will never be able to compete with German-speaking Switzerland for the level of taxes.”

The elected official also believes that this study does not take into account anything that has no financial value, such as quality of life, the quality of the region, its natural setting. “It is not valued with statistical criteria. So, we take it with humor, because we may be last this year and elsewhere in the ranking next year. We will forget in a few days, so it is a mixture of surprise tinged with a little sadness.”

boi with ats and rb