“Don’t be surprised if you see white advertising billboards blooming at the start of the year in Onex.”
To understand why this city could end up with empty cupboards from January 1, we have to turn to Société Générale D’A display (SGA). The latter, in charge of a concession for many years, was dismissed this fall in favor of the company Neo Advertising.
The decision was taken by the Onesian Executive following a new competition for the years 2020-2025. Unhappy, the SGA has just appealed against this decision to the Administrative Court of First Instance.
If this situation has an air of deja-vu, it is because it already occurred in the city of Geneva in 2016. The municipal authorities had then also put the concession of the poster in the competition and Neo Advertising had also won the competition at the expense of the SGA, which had previously been responsible for the display of the City of Geneva. The case was brought up to the Federal Court, which dismissed the SGA in October this year.
At this stage, it is impossible to know what the SGA accuses the Municipality of Onex in the context of this competition. The two sides refuse to rule as long as the case is in the hands of the justice system, but the suspensive effect being effectively applied, the new company will not be able to start its work in January.
The municipality will therefore be without public display from January 1, until the Administrative Court decides or possibly decides to lift the suspensive effect.
Will this situation have an impact on the electoral campaign for the next municipal elections scheduled for this spring? The impact will be minimal according to Carole-Anne Kast, who specifies that “the signs which are installed in the communes to allow the parties to campaign do not depend on this concession. They are made available in partnership with the Canton. Only parties that have planned to rent additional advertising will have to find other ways to invest in the campaign. “
At the City Council, the magistrate still wanted to remind all political groups that “a white sign does not mean that it is freely usable for political display”.
Created: 26.12.2019, 9:13 p.m.
–
