Internet Column, December 18, 2000
Emmanuel Gripon

Some people just don’t miss a trick. Picture me last night as I was surfing the Net for information for my daily column. I was trying to find Claude Berda’s (the president of AB Group, the majority shareholder of RTL9) bank account number. I did a search on Google, the up-and-coming search engine, and out of curiosity clicked on this link: switzerland.isyours.com. The splash page looks a bit like a box of chocolates for Japanese tourists. But, underneath this wholesome exterior lies some true added value, at least for wealthy clients looking for an extremely comfortable haven for their little nest eggs. Someone needed to think of it and micheloud.com dared. The company presents itself as a financial and immigration consulting firm. Note that the site is in English, French, and Russian.

You’ve just got to read the special message for Swiss visitors on the home page: it consists of a few words explaining why the secret and pleasant world of foreign wealth falls in love with Switzerland. Caution—you will need to be in touch with your sensitive side and still believe in Santa Claus!

That said, right next to information on the banking system there is a list of people who live or who have lived in our region. And Claude Berda, the boss who dreams of owning his own piece of the publicity pie in the ruthless world of television is on it, as are Ben Bella, Bergson and Arnaud Boetsch, to name a few. This is nothing terribly extraordinary except for the fact that he was the producer of the sitcom “Hélène et les garcons” and came to Switzerland in 1996. You don’t have to go far…

Emmanuel Gripon’sInternet Column is on the air every morning at 8:20, Monday to Friday, as part of the "La Première" show, on Radio Suisse Romande, the leading Francophone radio station in Switzerland.