Puplinge
Encyclopedia
Puplinge is a municipality
in the canton
of Geneva in Switzerland
.
According to Pierre Bertrand, the village of Puplinge was part of ancient Burgundy and settled in 443 by 'le peuple germanique des Burgondes' The name of the village is derived from Old German and has since been modified to fit with French spelling conventions by adding an 'e' at the end. Bertrand further states that the names of the villages of Presinge, Puplinge, Corsinge, Merlinge, etc. 'tended to indicate an area of Germanic preponderance'.
It was part of the County of Geneva originated in the 10th century, in the Kingdom of Burgundy; in the domain of Aymar of Geneva, who married Bertha of Flanders, daughter of Baudouin III, count of Flanders, and died in 1016. The territory passed to the de Thoire et Villars family on the death of Count Robert (the Avignon Pope Clement VII) in 1394, was sold in 1400 to the Counts of Savoy. During the attempts by the Duke
of Savoy
to capture Geneva
in 1602, Puplinge was part of the Savoy territory as an appendage as part of the Bailiwick of Gaillard. It was subsequently conceded to several Savoyard princes before being joined to the Duchy of Savoy in 1659.
Puplinge is first mentioned in 1573 as Puplinge.
Prior to 1860, it was part of the Ville-La-Grand commune of Savoy as the other half of Ville La Grand commune of France of the present times. As a result of the Treaty of Turin
, signed on 16 March 1816, Savoy was annexed to France as agreed back in 1858 at Plombières-les-Bains dividing the commune between Switzerland and France and Puplinge was awarded to Switzerland along with Presinge. The duty free zone north of a line defined by Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers, Le Châtelard, Faverges and Les Contamines-Montjoie created as result of the treaty ensured that the official French frontier was located a significant distance away from the actual frontier with Switzerland. Presinge, Puplinge and the hamlets of Cara, La Louviere, and Pesay Angle were combined to form a single municipality. In 1824, the first school building opened in the town.
In 1842, the first direct elections to the town council occurred. Due to long standing tensions between Presinge and Puplinge, on 9 November 1850 Puplinge and Presinge were split into two communes creating the present day borders of the municipality. The commune has swung between Protestantism and Catholicism based on the government in charge.
In 1924, the municipality received its coat of arms.
Approximately 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) from the village, across the Route de Jussy lies the Maximum Security prison of Champ-Dollon, which is officially part of the municipality. It employs about 200 people and houses 500 inmates. It was built in 1977 to house 200 inmates. There are several controversies surrounding this prison. Over 60% of the prisoners are awaiting trial which has caused significant overcrowding. In 2006, the prison faced a mutiny of the inmates over the conditions as well as police brutality. Over 80% of the prisoners are of foreign origin.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 13.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.6%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 0.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 59.4% is used for growing crops and 6.8% is pastures, while 7.9% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located on the left bank of the Rhone
river. This municipality borders Ville la Grand commune in Haute-Savoie
department in the Rhône-Alpes
region in southeastern France
. It consists of the linear village
of Puplinge and the hamlets
of Mon-Idée and Cornier. Apart from France, it is surrounded by other Swiss municipalities of Choulex
, Presinge
and Thônex
.
The municipality of Puplinge consists of the sub-sections or villages of Dardelles, Champ-Dollon, Pesay and Puplinge - village.
, the gender distribution of the population was 47.3% male and 52.7% female. The population was made up of 771 Swiss men (37.9% of the population) and 191 (9.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 923 Swiss women (45.4%) and 150 (7.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 426 or about 18.9% were born in Puplinge and lived there in 2000. There were 688 or 30.5% who were born in the same canton, while 364 or 16.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 514 or 22.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 19 live births to Swiss citizens and 6 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 15 while the foreign population increased by 6. There were 8 Swiss men and 5 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men and 4 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 6 and the non-Swiss population increased by 11 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.2%.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 66.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 8.4%.
, there were 1,010 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,030 married individuals, 62 widows or widowers and 156 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.63 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.64 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 25.4% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 820 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 237 households that consist of only one person and 62 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 837 households that answered this question, 28.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 2 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 196 married couples without children, 305 married couples with children There were 72 single parents with a child or children. There were 8 households that were made up of unrelated people and 17 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 154 single family homes (or 52.9% of the total) out of a total of 291 inhabited buildings. There were 100 multi-family buildings (34.4%), along with 29 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (10.0%) and 8 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.7%). Of the single family homes 37 were built before 1919, while 7 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (63) were built between 1981 and 1990. The most multi-family homes (42) were built between 1971 and 1980 and the next most (22) were built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 836 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 271. There were 41 single room apartments and 215 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 802 apartments (95.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 24 apartments (2.9%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (1.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.23%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 21.27% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party
(20.19%), the LPS Party
(17.53%) and the SP
(15.76%). In the federal election, a total of 652 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 49.4%.
In the 2009 Grand Conseil
election, there were a total of 1,318 registered voters of which 598 (45.4%) voted. The most popular party in the municipality for this election was the Les Verts
with 19.0% of the ballots. In the canton-wide election they received the second highest proportion of votes. The second most popular party was the Libéral
(with 17.7%), they were first in the canton-wide election, while the third most popular party was the MCG (with 14.5%), they were also third in the canton-wide election.
For the 2009 Conseil d'Etat election, there were a total of 1,314 registered voters of which 698 (53.1%) voted.
In 2011, all the municipalities held local elections, and in Puplinge there were 17 spots open on the municipal council. There were a total of 1,513 registered voters of which 756 (50.0%) voted. Out of the 756 votes, there were 14 blank votes, 7 null or unreadable votes and 56 votes with a name that was not on the list.
Puplinge also has the distinction of being 7th in the country for the highest number of registered Green Party of Switzerland
(PES) voters with 20.2% of all voters indicating their preference for PES in 2007.
The elections are scheduled once every 4 years. Swiss citizens and foreigners residing in the Canton of Geneva for eight years or more are eligible to vote. The current mayor is Michel Pitteloud and the Deputy Mayor is Gilles Marti.
. However until the mid-17th century, Franco-Provençal
(called Romand
in Switzerland) was a common patois
in the region. Vestiges of the Franco-Provençal language only survive in street names in and around the villages of Suisse Romande
today. After the ratification of the treaty by the Duchy of Savoy
on 4 March 1540 making French the only official language, use of all patois declined and survived only in agricultural terms and in isolated towns. Modern-day Switzerland does not recognize Franco-Provençal (Romand) as one of its official languages.
It is speculated that the Ligurian language was spoken in pre-Roman times in this region. Very little is known about this language which is believed to have been Indo-European
in origin.
Most of the population speaks French (1,877 or 83.1%), with German
being second most common (99 or 4.4%) and English
being third (75 or 3.3%). There are 30 people who speak Italian
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
. There are no industries or commercial centers in the village.
, Puplinge had an unemployment rate of 3.1%. , there were 34 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 36 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 12 businesses in this sector. 407 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 37 businesses in this sector. There were 1,120 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.7% of the workforce.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 448. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 26, of which 14 were in agriculture and 12 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 33 of which 10 or (30.3%) were in manufacturing and 24 (72.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 389. In the tertiary sector; 27 or 6.9% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 0.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 13 or 3.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 0.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 28 or 7.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 10 or 2.6% were in education and 3 or 0.8% were in health care.
, there were 323 workers who commuted into the municipality and 956 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 8.0% of the workforce coming into Puplinge are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 18.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 61.3% used a private car.
From the , 884 or 39.1% were Roman Catholic, while 433 or 19.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
. Of the rest of the population, there were 18 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.80% of the population), there were 8 individuals (or about 0.35% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 31 individuals (or about 1.37% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 12 individuals (or about 0.53% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 15 (or about 0.66% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
, 2 individuals who were Hindu
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 504 (or about 22.32% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 348 individuals (or about 15.41% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 482 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.6% were Swiss men, 35.1% were Swiss women, 11.8% were non-Swiss men and 8.5% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2009-2010 school year there were a total of 452 students in the Puplinge school system. The education system
in the Canton of Geneva allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were 35 children who were in a pre-kindergarten class. The canton's school system provides two years of non-mandatory kindergarten and requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In Puplinge there were 71 students in kindergarten or primary school and 4 students were in the special, smaller classes. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 71 lower secondary students who attended school in Puplinge. There were 119 upper secondary students from the municipality along with 31 students who were in a professional, non-university track program. An additional 40 students attended a private school.
, there were 14 students in Puplinge who came from another municipality, while 222 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Geneva in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
History
It was part of the County of Geneva originated in the 10th century, in the Kingdom of Burgundy; in the domain of Aymar of Geneva, who married Bertha of Flanders, daughter of Baudouin III, count of Flanders, and died in 1016. The territory passed to the de Thoire et Villars family on the death of Count Robert (the Avignon Pope Clement VII) in 1394, was sold in 1400 to the Counts of Savoy. During the attempts by the Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
to capture Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
in 1602, Puplinge was part of the Savoy territory as an appendage as part of the Bailiwick of Gaillard. It was subsequently conceded to several Savoyard princes before being joined to the Duchy of Savoy in 1659.
Puplinge is first mentioned in 1573 as Puplinge.
Prior to 1860, it was part of the Ville-La-Grand commune of Savoy as the other half of Ville La Grand commune of France of the present times. As a result of the Treaty of Turin
Treaty of Turin
The Treaty of Turin concluded on March 24, 1860 is the instrument by which the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice were annexed to France.-Background:...
, signed on 16 March 1816, Savoy was annexed to France as agreed back in 1858 at Plombières-les-Bains dividing the commune between Switzerland and France and Puplinge was awarded to Switzerland along with Presinge. The duty free zone north of a line defined by Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers, Le Châtelard, Faverges and Les Contamines-Montjoie created as result of the treaty ensured that the official French frontier was located a significant distance away from the actual frontier with Switzerland. Presinge, Puplinge and the hamlets of Cara, La Louviere, and Pesay Angle were combined to form a single municipality. In 1824, the first school building opened in the town.
In 1842, the first direct elections to the town council occurred. Due to long standing tensions between Presinge and Puplinge, on 9 November 1850 Puplinge and Presinge were split into two communes creating the present day borders of the municipality. The commune has swung between Protestantism and Catholicism based on the government in charge.
In 1924, the municipality received its coat of arms.
Champ-Dollon Prison
Geography
Puplinge has an area, , of 2.66 square kilometres (1 sq mi). Of this area, 1.97 km² (0.760621252427294 sq mi) or 74.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.12 km² (0.0463322590311042 sq mi) or 4.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.55 km² (0.212356187225894 sq mi) or 20.7% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 13.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.6%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 0.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 59.4% is used for growing crops and 6.8% is pastures, while 7.9% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located on the left bank of the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
river. This municipality borders Ville la Grand commune in Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
department in the Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...
region in southeastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It consists of the linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
of Puplinge and the hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Mon-Idée and Cornier. Apart from France, it is surrounded by other Swiss municipalities of Choulex
Choulex
Choulex is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.-Geography:Choulex has an area, , of . Of this area, or 73.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 9.5% is forested...
, Presinge
Presinge
Presinge is a municipality of the canton of Geneva in Switzerland.-History:Presinge is first mentioned after 1000 as in Presiago. In 1180 it was mentioned as villa que appellatur Presingium....
and Thônex
Thônex
Thônex is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It is situated in the east of the canton and shares a border with the French town of Ambilly.-History:...
.
The municipality of Puplinge consists of the sub-sections or villages of Dardelles, Champ-Dollon, Pesay and Puplinge - village.
Demographics
Puplinge has a population of . , 17.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 0.9%. It has changed at a rate of -7.8% due to migration and at a rate of 8.4% due to births and deaths., the gender distribution of the population was 47.3% male and 52.7% female. The population was made up of 771 Swiss men (37.9% of the population) and 191 (9.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 923 Swiss women (45.4%) and 150 (7.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 426 or about 18.9% were born in Puplinge and lived there in 2000. There were 688 or 30.5% who were born in the same canton, while 364 or 16.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 514 or 22.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 19 live births to Swiss citizens and 6 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 15 while the foreign population increased by 6. There were 8 Swiss men and 5 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men and 4 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 6 and the non-Swiss population increased by 11 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.2%.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 66.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 8.4%.
, there were 1,010 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,030 married individuals, 62 widows or widowers and 156 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.63 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.64 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 25.4% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 820 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 237 households that consist of only one person and 62 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 837 households that answered this question, 28.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 2 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 196 married couples without children, 305 married couples with children There were 72 single parents with a child or children. There were 8 households that were made up of unrelated people and 17 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 154 single family homes (or 52.9% of the total) out of a total of 291 inhabited buildings. There were 100 multi-family buildings (34.4%), along with 29 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (10.0%) and 8 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.7%). Of the single family homes 37 were built before 1919, while 7 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (63) were built between 1981 and 1990. The most multi-family homes (42) were built between 1971 and 1980 and the next most (22) were built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 836 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 271. There were 41 single room apartments and 215 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 802 apartments (95.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 24 apartments (2.9%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (1.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.23%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
which received 21.27% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(20.19%), the LPS Party
Liberal Party of Switzerland
The Liberal Party of Switzerland was a party with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic Party to establish FDP.The Liberals....
(17.53%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(15.76%). In the federal election, a total of 652 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 49.4%.
In the 2009 Grand Conseil
Grand Council of Geneva
The Grand Council of Geneva is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council has 100 seats, with members elected every four years...
election, there were a total of 1,318 registered voters of which 598 (45.4%) voted. The most popular party in the municipality for this election was the Les Verts
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
with 19.0% of the ballots. In the canton-wide election they received the second highest proportion of votes. The second most popular party was the Libéral
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(with 17.7%), they were first in the canton-wide election, while the third most popular party was the MCG (with 14.5%), they were also third in the canton-wide election.
For the 2009 Conseil d'Etat election, there were a total of 1,314 registered voters of which 698 (53.1%) voted.
In 2011, all the municipalities held local elections, and in Puplinge there were 17 spots open on the municipal council. There were a total of 1,513 registered voters of which 756 (50.0%) voted. Out of the 756 votes, there were 14 blank votes, 7 null or unreadable votes and 56 votes with a name that was not on the list.
Local government
Like all municipalities in the canton of Geneva, the political authorities of Puplinge consist of an Administrative Council (Conseil administratif) headed by a mayor as executive and a Municipal Council (Conseil municipal), composed of three and twenty-seven citizens respectively, elected for four years. The local government is responsible for providing services such as primary education, social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The primary source of income is direct taxes.Puplinge also has the distinction of being 7th in the country for the highest number of registered Green Party of Switzerland
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(PES) voters with 20.2% of all voters indicating their preference for PES in 2007.
The elections are scheduled once every 4 years. Swiss citizens and foreigners residing in the Canton of Geneva for eight years or more are eligible to vote. The current mayor is Michel Pitteloud and the Deputy Mayor is Gilles Marti.
Language
The official language spoken in Puplinge is FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. However until the mid-17th century, Franco-Provençal
Franco-Provençal language
Franco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I...
(called Romand
Románd
- External links :*...
in Switzerland) was a common patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
in the region. Vestiges of the Franco-Provençal language only survive in street names in and around the villages of Suisse Romande
Suisse Romande
The Suisse romande is a local name for the French-speaking districts of western Switzerland. The name Romandie is also used. The term "Suisse romande" is also used to refer to Swiss French, the variety of French spoken in Switzerland...
today. After the ratification of the treaty by the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
on 4 March 1540 making French the only official language, use of all patois declined and survived only in agricultural terms and in isolated towns. Modern-day Switzerland does not recognize Franco-Provençal (Romand) as one of its official languages.
It is speculated that the Ligurian language was spoken in pre-Roman times in this region. Very little is known about this language which is believed to have been Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
in origin.
Most of the population speaks French (1,877 or 83.1%), with German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
being second most common (99 or 4.4%) and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
being third (75 or 3.3%). There are 30 people who speak Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
Economy
The commune is mostly a bedroom community for the city of Geneva with most residents commuting to Geneva and nearby towns. There is also a vibrant farming culture. The local vineyards produce grapes for winemaking at the Chateau Du CrestChateau Du Crest
The Château Du Crest is a castle in the municipality of Jussy of the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.It is the only wine producing chateau in the left Bank of Lake Geneva in the Canton of Geneva....
. There are no industries or commercial centers in the village.
, Puplinge had an unemployment rate of 3.1%. , there were 34 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 36 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 12 businesses in this sector. 407 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 37 businesses in this sector. There were 1,120 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.7% of the workforce.
the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 448. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 26, of which 14 were in agriculture and 12 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 33 of which 10 or (30.3%) were in manufacturing and 24 (72.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 389. In the tertiary sector; 27 or 6.9% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 0.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 13 or 3.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 0.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 28 or 7.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 10 or 2.6% were in education and 3 or 0.8% were in health care.
, there were 323 workers who commuted into the municipality and 956 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 8.0% of the workforce coming into Puplinge are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 18.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 61.3% used a private car.
Religion
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 18 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 0.80% of the population), there were 8 individuals (or about 0.35% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 31 individuals (or about 1.37% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 12 individuals (or about 0.53% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 15 (or about 0.66% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 2 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 504 (or about 22.32% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 348 individuals (or about 15.41% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Puplinge about 703 or (31.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 482 or (21.3%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 482 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.6% were Swiss men, 35.1% were Swiss women, 11.8% were non-Swiss men and 8.5% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2009-2010 school year there were a total of 452 students in the Puplinge school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Geneva allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. During that school year, there were 35 children who were in a pre-kindergarten class. The canton's school system provides two years of non-mandatory kindergarten and requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In Puplinge there were 71 students in kindergarten or primary school and 4 students were in the special, smaller classes. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 71 lower secondary students who attended school in Puplinge. There were 119 upper secondary students from the municipality along with 31 students who were in a professional, non-university track program. An additional 40 students attended a private school.
, there were 14 students in Puplinge who came from another municipality, while 222 residents attended schools outside the municipality.