La barque n'est pas pleine

On 11 September 1973, Pinochet overthrew Allende's socialist government in Chile, marking the beginning of a bloody repression that drove thousands of men and women into exile. In the context of the Cold War, the Swiss Federal Council was suspicious of Chilean political refugees, who were considered too left-wing and potentially dangerous. Faced with the authorities' refusal to accept these exiles, a vast popular movement was set up. Thousands of young activists, parishioners, intellectuals and ordinary families pledged to take in a Chilean exile. This was the "Free Places Action".