Holy cow! The Swiss steal water from France -- for their cattle

GENEVA — It took a thirsty herd of cows to prompt the first dispute between Switzerland and its French neighbors since Napoleon invaded the Alpine country in 1798.

The small French town of Les Rousses has a beef with the Swiss army for “invading” the local lake and “nabbing” its water to quench the thirst of Switzerland’s cattle.

It is true that since last week, the Swiss military mobilized to airlift water to about 20,000 cows grazing on mountain pastures and to set up water tanks for the livestock. An average cow, it seems, gulps about 40 gallons of water a day, and the recent heat wave and dry spell have caused water shortages.

The government-funded operation, which has already delivered thousands of gallons of water to thirsty bovines, is supposed to get its supply from Swiss lakes. But according to the French newspaper Le Parisien, Les Rousses’ residents were shocked to see Swiss army helicopters hovering over their lake. “To save its cows, Switzerland steals water from France,” the newspaper claimed.

“It all happened without our knowledge,” the town’s Mayor Bernard Mamet confirmed to the Swiss newspaper 20 Minutes.  

So, did neutral Switzerland really fly into France illegally, or was it just a mistake? (It wouldn’t be the first time. Several years ago, 170 armed Swiss soldiers got lost in the dark and wandered into neighboring Liechtenstein.)

The Swiss, for their part, dismissed France’s accusations of water theft as a lot of bull. They explained they needed to get French water because Les Rousses’ lake lies closer to one area of the operation than the nearest Swiss water source.

“We sent an official request to the French state, which gave us the green light,” Daniel Reist, spokesman for the Swiss army, told 20 Minutes.

But it appears Switzerland might be in deep water after all. While it did get permission to fly over the French territory, the army didn’t know that local authorities also needed to agree in order to gain access to the lake.

The Swiss did not wait till the cows came home to chew over this matter. After a hastily convened meeting Monday between the two countries, Switzerland’s Defense Department apologized to Les Rousses and its residents for the cross-border snafu.

The apology was accepted, and the army says it will draw water from Swiss lakes only. Now each side is hoping this incident will soon be nothing more than water under the bridge.