Having managed to survive the long first lockdown, and a gradual re-opening with many restrictions – Geneva’s restaurants have found themselves closed down again – this time not by the Swiss government, but directly by the Geneva authorities, as the city tried to cope with a major spike in Covid-19 cases, making it Europe’s hot spot for infection rates. This time around restaurants are trying to stay open, converting to a take away service – many of them for the first time. There is little expectation of much business – and indeed after 7:30 in the evening there is almost none – a lockdown population eats early – but it does feels for many like an act of defiance against the virus – and the rules.

This is all most visible in the Pâquis district, the city’s multi-cultural entertainment district – the city’s alternative united nations – reflected in the diversity of its restaurants, now unified in resistance, keeping the lights on, the stove lit, even if the chairs are on the tables.