Last week, Swiss and French customs coordinated a joint operation on the border between the cantons of Jura and Neuchâtel and the French departments of Doubs and the Belfort Territory. Eighty-six agents, including police, gendarmes, customs officers and specialists in the detection of false documents and drones, were deployed at four fixed points and several mobile controls over six different sectors.
What they found: Drugs, smuggled tobacco, a weapon, illegally moved waste, undeclared imports, and various traffic violations. They also arrested a person wanted for unpaid fines. It is not exactly what one imagines when crossing to make the purchase on the other side, but it is the type of operation that remembers that the border is still a border, with its controls and its consequences.
These types of joint operations are not exceptional. Authorities insist they are held regularly throughout the year. For those who regularly cross into France, whether to work, shop or simply visit someone, it is convenient to know that the controls exist and that they are activated from time to time with that level of deployment. Undeclared tobacco, poorly managed waste or a vehicle with a background in France can turn a routine journey into something much more complicated.