En terrain neutre

Even on American late-night shows, the statements of the Russian Minister of War have provoked both outrage and amusement: given its critical stance on the invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland would no longer be regarded as neutral. Drawing from their own personal histories, Stéphane Goël and Mehdi Atmani embody the quest to uncover the secret of what defines their country’s identity. By giving this story – which dates back to the deadly defeat at Marignano – a playful and rock’n’roll treatment, they take their investigations in both serious and more whimsical directions, such as visiting a bunker or following disastrously failed military simulations. Viewed as an attitude of self-interest following the Second World War, this voluntary withdrawal from global turmoil also embodies the symbol of the country’s economic reliability as well as its political stability. It is a stance that the ongoing genocide in Gaza pushes to its limits, to the point of making neutrality seem like an obsolete concept, leading Stéphane and Mehdi to speak of it in the past tense: “we were carefree, neutral”.

Raphaëlle Pireyre

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