GENEVA: Ever since the violent clashes at the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa, in which one demonstrator was killed by police, the world leaders have preferred smaller places for their annual meeting.

Having picked the remote village of Kananaskis in the Rocky Mountains last year, the heads of top industrial nations are to meet in the small French spa of Evian on the shores of Lake Geneva this year.

The convention in early June, however, has already caused alarm in neighbouring Switzerland. As the French resort cannot host all of the guests, most of the visitors — and protesters — are expected to stay in the larger cities that happen to be on Swiss territory.

Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux are due to be most affected and the Swiss government is now facing large-scale and expensive security operations.

Anti-globalization protesters are planning to stage their biggest demonstration during the three-day summit in Geneva, with officials expecting a gathering of 100,000 people.

Such numbers are beyond anything the Swiss authorities are equipped to handle, observers say. According to officials, 2,900 police are needed in Geneva alone. This is 700 more than Switzerland has been able to provide so far.

As a result, the government in Berne is to decide on Friday whether they are going to ask Germany for help. This solution, however, is not popular with all politicians.

Justice Minister Ruth Metzler said she would favour “an internal solution in Switzerland for psychological and political reasons”. The province of Geneva was to doublecheck whether the army could provide extra police forces for the summit.—dpa