RUETLI - Communes across the country rehearsed the 1 August bonfire in the last week of July, which means they stacked wood, checked the wind and listened to the fire service. Dry grass on the plateau produced more conditions than usual. A few lowland sites prepared a smaller stack.
The official speeches are still being written. The unofficial ones, about neutrality and the army, are already practised in smaller halls.
Friday is the picture
Our eve report will do the politics. Monday's rehearsal is the part with a hose.