As investigations into the tragedy progress lapses in oversight are emerging. The authorities appear to have been lax in their enforcement of rules.
A licence despite a conviction
Investigations into one of the managers of the Constellation bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana have raised uncomfortable questions about regulatory oversight. Why was Jacques Moretti, one of the owner-managers of the bar permitted to operate restaurants despite a criminal conviction?
Under Valais cantonal law, a municipality may grant a licence to run a hospitality business only if the applicant has no relevant criminal convictions that could endanger the operation. Today, the law is explicit. When Mr Moretti first applied, the requirement was looser: an impeccable reputation. That reputation was already blemished. In 2008 a court in Annecy sentenced Mr Moretti, a French national, to twelve months in prison for inciting prostitution, reported SRF. The offences, dating back to 2005, were linked to a massage parlour in Geneva. French media reported that the conviction included a ban on operating a business in France.
Despite this, Mr Moretti and his wife later settled in Crans-Montana, where they came to own a bar and a restaurant in the resort, as well as another restaurant in a neighbouring town. How the local authorities assessed his background remains unclear.
The municipality has declined to answer questions about whether it sought criminal-record extracts from Switzerland or France, or otherwise examined Mr Moretti’s standing before issuing licences. It has since confirmed that it has forwarded the full dossier relating to the bar Le Constellation to the cantonal public prosecutor, who has yet to comment.
Fire safety oversight that lapsed
The questions do not stop at licensing. The bar that later caught fire had not undergone a fire-safety inspection since 2019, reported SWI. Municipal officials say inspections took place in 2016, 2018 and 2019, each resulting in demands for unspecified specific changes. None followed between 2020 and 2025. The municipality has described this lapse as a serious failure and expressed deep regret.
The mayor, Nicolas Féraud, acknowledged negligence by the operator and spoke of a reckless risk culture that endangered customers and staff. He said the municipality’s security service had received no warnings about the premises. Although an emergency exit existed in the basement, he could not say whether it was accessible at the time of the fire.
According to the authorities, the bar met the formal requirements for fire equipment: a single extinguisher was deemed sufficient, and no alarm system was required for a venue of that size.
A belated tightening
In response, the municipal council has banned all pyrotechnic devices in enclosed public spaces. It has also commissioned an external specialist to carry out immediate inspections of all public establishments, extending to building materials, despite no legal obligation to do so.
In a press release, the municipality noted that some 1,400 fire inspections were conducted in 2025 alone—while conceding that Le Constellation had fallen through the cracks for five years. The regret is explicit. Whether accountability will follow is less clear.
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