The French-Swiss Relationship and the eternal Peace Treaty of 1516
2 February 2022
The relationship between France and Switzerland has many facets. An estimated 175,000 French citizens currently work in Switzerland. The largest Swiss contingent living abroad resides in France.
France is the fourth-largest export market for Switzerland, while Switzerland is among the top ten economic partners of France.
The two countries have numerous cultural, scientific, social, and political connections. More than 1.3 million Swiss citizens speak French.
Until the sixteenth century, the French Kingdom was much smaller and was militarily, culturally and politically overshadowed by the Dukes of Burgundy and the Habsburgs.
Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté, and Savoy were not part of the kingdom yet, and the Reformation (after 1517) had not divided Switzerland and France.
Fifteenth century
A conflict (Zürcherkrieg) in the Confederation (Zurich, supported by Habsburg) against Bern, Zug, Lucerne, Schwyz, Glarus, Unterwalden and Uri) caused an intervention by the French king Charles VII (1403-1461) against the Eidgenossen.
The Eidgenossen lost the war (the battle of St. Jacob on the Birs in 1444). The French king was so impressed by the Swiss soldiers’ fighting power, spirit, and mentality that he offered the Eidgenossenschaft a favourable peace (Treaty of Ensisheim, 28 October 1444).
The eternal peace
It began a friendly relationship of almost 350 years (until Napoleon’s invasion in 1798). Around one million Swiss soldiers served in the French military, an essential Swiss export product for centuries.
In 1453, the French king Charles VII (1403-1461) and the Swiss Confederation, comprising eight cantons, concluded the first treaty of the ‘paix éternelle’, or the Treaty of Eternal Peace. This treaty would be ratified with great regularity until 1798. The French interest was the disposal of Swiss mercenaries and a neutral neighbour.
Swiss merchants had access to French markets and enjoyed a privileged status compared to other foreign merchants.
This alliance was a blessing for France. The Eidgenossenschaft defeated the mighty Burgundian Duke in 1476 (Grandson and Murten) and again in Nancy (1477).
The Habsburg emperor Maximilian (1459-1519) also benefited, and he married Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482), the daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold.
The ‘paix éternelle‘ was at risk when some, not all, cantons occupied the Po valley and threatened the duchy of Milan. The Confederation was a military superpower, but it lacked internal cohesion.
Marignano
The outcome was the defeat in September and October 1515 (a.o. at Marignano). The French king recognised the importance of a good relationship with the Eidgenossenschaft, and another ‘paix éternelle‘ was signed on November 29, 1516, and confirmed on May 5, 1521, in Lucerne.
The Reformation complicated the situation, but the “paix éternelle” and the good relationship lasted until 1798.
(Source: G. Miège, A.-J. Tornare, Suisse et France. Cinq cents ans de Paix Perpétuells 1516-2016, Freiburg 2016).