Scapegoats, Crans-Montana, Le Constellation: candles, managers, commune are not the only ones at fault
Conflict of Interest disclaimer: the author has resided in Switzerland, he has taken the Swiss citizenship oath and, from time to time, been party to legal and contractual relationships involving parties referenced in the JuristGate reports. The nature of these relationships is often declared within the research reports although we can't rule out the possibility some relationships or influences have not been explicitly itemized within every report.
In a press conference on the morning of 6 January 2026, the mayor of the Commune of Crans-Montana admits there had been no inspection for five years and they only conduct inspections on areas suspected to be high risk, such as kitchens.
After the Pulse nightclub tragedy in Macedonia, the risks of nightclub fires were re-examined and widely documented. Many European countries paid attention.
Industry magazines and web sites frequented by building inspectors and insurance specialists published extensive reports.
From a report by CROSS UK:
On 16th March 2025, a fire broke out at the Pulse nightclub in North Macedonia. Leaving 61 people dead, the fire was reportedly started by indoor fireworks igniting materials inside the club. Many people will remember similar incidents ...
... Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Argentina, the USA, Ecuador, China and Brazil. Around 1,000 people have died in such fires. ...
... the alarming global trend: mass fatalities are still occurring because of the use of pyrotechnics in nightclubs. Furthermore, the frequency and severity of these fires is a real cause for concern. ...
The British seem to get it. Their very detailed national guidance encourages business owners, building designers, inspectors and local authorities to take all measures to prevent mass death:
You need to be aware that certain functions e.g. discos, can present additional dangers for the audience, largely from the effects of over excitement and irrational behaviour; together with the higher noise level and flashing lights. In such circumstances, and particularly where there is a mainly younger audience, you should ensure that there are a sufficient number of competent and adequately trained attendants to cover an emergency situation; and a public address system which can over-ride the performance and be heard clearly in all parts of the premises will be required.
In Switzerland, however, responsibility for writing the standards and enforcing them is split across twenty six different cantons and hundreds of tiny little communes / municipalities.
How many Swiss cantons did an audit after Pulse nightclub? How many did nothing?
The CROSS-UK research report was shared widely and ignited a debate in the industry. International Fire & Safety Journal was one of many outlets to direct people towards the CROSS-UK report.
Is it possible that somebody in at least one Swiss canton read that report and decided to do an audit?
Even if the Swiss authorities find a defect, how long does it take before they protect the public? Look at the case of the illegal legal insurance firm, Parreaux, Thiebaud & Partners. It is alleged that authorities knew about the firm since 2018 but didn't take enforcement action until 2023.
Look at Grenfell Tower and the insulation company. Internal documents show that the manufacturer, Kingspan, knew about fire risk and covered it up.
From the BBC's news report about the inquiry:
Kingspan was dishonest and cynical, Grenfell Inquiry finds
The report published on Wednesday found Kingspan, which is headquartered in County Cavan, was not directly responsible for the fire but showed "complete disregard for fire safety" in how it marketed one of its products.
It also demonstrated "deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty...in pursuit of commercial gain".
How many building control specialists followed the reports about the Grenfell tragedy and expanded their practice to include the insulation foams, accoustic foams and similar products?
In comments quoted by Le Temps and many other media outlets, I feel the canton's prosecutor, Béatrice Pilloud is now being evasive about the width of the exit staircase:
En ce qui concerne l’étroitesse de l’escalier, j’ai vu l’escalier. J’ai été constaté également sur place, qu’est-ce qu’un escalier étroit, en fait, finalement?
Translated to English:
On matters concerning the narrowness of the staircase, I saw the staircase. I contemplated that on site, what is a narrow staircase, ultimately?
Looking back to the UK regulations, they would simply take out a measuring tape and give us an answer in millimeters. Then they would compare it to the minimum widths in the regulations. Pilloud spent most of her career working as a defense lawyer and when I look at the way she avoided a direct question about the width, I feel that rather than looking for every possible reason to advance the prosecution, she is falling into the habits she developed as a defence lawyer and trying to avoid putting any facts in the open that could become landmines for her political cousins who run the canton and the communes.
In fact, we saw similar phenomena when people made abuse reports. The church appointed a lawyer with the title of "Independent Commissioner" and encouraged victims to take their complaints to him for assessment. The Royal Commission heard allegations that he wasn't active enough in encouraging people to make police reports and some evidence was leaked to other lawyers acting to defend the church:
The Catholic Church's independent commissioner was unable to explain how he received confidential information from a victim of serial paedophile priest Kevin O'Donnell or why it was passed on to the church's lawyers in an apparent breach of confidentiality.
The Royal Commission also raised concerns about the independence of Peter O'Callaghan, QC, who has investigated allegations of clerical abuse for the past 18 years under the church's controversial Melbourne Response.
The church's law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth was also questioned over its handling of files and sensitive information from three separate arms of the Melbourne Response, which claim to be independent of each other.
One of Mr O'Callaghan's first duties as a lawyer involved representing the concerns of my grandparents in the Liquor Royal Commission. This is ironic, of course, because the late Cardinal Pell would subsequently be prosecuted in relation to allegations involving two choir boys who went looking for the sacramental wine.
The Liquor Royal Commission sought to examine all aspects of the industry, from the viability of small businesses to the safety of the public.
In Switzerland, authorities were considering a proposal to relax fire safety regulations but that has now been put on hold and the consultation extended.
Stéphane Ganzer, the security minister who previously worked as a fireman, told us that they use the same candles / sparklers in every venue without a problem and there must have been a more serious defect in the building that allowed it to catch fire.
After looking at the videos of the moment when the fire started, the media speculated if it was an accoustic foam that was not in conformance with fire regulations.
Now, with the media briefing of 6 January, the commune has admitted that the accoustic foam was inspected only a few weeks ago to ensure it is adequate for noise prevention but they do not mention whether any control of fire safety is performed in the same audit.
This suggests that the neighbors and the commune were so concerned with enforcing Switzerland's super-strict regulations on noise emissions after 10pm that they forced the children into this dangerous underground bunker run by a convicted pimp.
Every Swiss parent knows where their fifteen year old hangs out on a Saturday night if for no other reason than the fact somebody has to drive there to pick them up. Le Constellation was no secret.
As noted in a previous report, the three most senior political figures in the canton all live in the immediate vicinity of Le Constellation. How many times have they been there to pick up their own children after a party?
Liquor licensing, police and fire inspectors normally make random visits to high-risk venues during trading hours. This is well known throughout the world. Does this type of inspection happen from time to time in Valais?
Did the owner, who appears to be a chef, really do the load-bearing walls and the electrical work entirely by himself or did an architect, engineer or electrician provide oversight at various moments during the project?
Journalists found various photos published by the owners during the construction works. Who are all the other people in the photos? Do any of them have professional responsibility or will they be given anonymity?
How many other premises in Canton Valais had assistance from the same engineer and architect? Will the owners of other premises be given anonymity too?
Are there any cantons in Switzerland where the architects and engineers are required to be qualified as in some other countries or can anybody work in these professions, even without a degree?
From a Swiss construction web site:
Job title
The professional title "architect" is not protected in Switzerland. This means that, in principle, anyone can call themselves an architect.
In this "uncontrolled growth", the Bachelor's degree in architecture from a federally accredited university (universities of applied sciences, universities) is a recognized seal of quality. It leads to the title "Bachelor of Arts [FH/UH] in Architecture".
Authorization to practice the profession
Who is allowed to work independently as an architect is regulated by the cantons. There are cantons (e.g. GE, VD, NE) in which the architectural profession is regulated and a license and proof of professional qualifications are required to practice. In other cantons, the profession is not regulated.
What is the role of the insurance company? Did they know they were insuring a night club full of teenagers or were they tricked? Do they require policyholders to have any inspections or certifications above and beyond those mandated by the local municipality?
Look at JuristGate, it looks like one of the women who worked for the rogue insurance company was immediately given a job at another insurance company. Were the insurance companies in collaboration with the Swiss authorities to cover up the extraordinary levels of incompetence?
Looking through the meeting minutes of the municipality, the canton and the federal parliament, can we find previous discussions about the regulation and inspection of night clubs and similar spaces?
Look at how the politicians are hyper-sensitive about foreign people coming to work in Switzerland but they made no scrutiny of these foreign people setting up a high-risk business where children go on Saturday nights and New Year's Eve.
Many other people interacted with Jacques Moretti and Jessica Maric throughout the ten years they spent renovating and operating businesses in Crans-Montana. A genuinely thorough investigation might raise uncomfortable questions about each of their collaborators and all the other premises where any of the same collaborators have had a role in design, construction or supervision. Switzerland is only a small country where everybody is related to everybody else. For that reason, many people would prefer not to open up that can of worms at all because they don't know how many other people might be brought down with the Morettis.
This was never just about the candles or the Morettis.
Please see the rest of the JuristGate reports.
Conflict of Interest disclaimer: the author has resided in Switzerland, he has taken the Swiss citizenship oath and, from time to time, been party to legal and contractual relationships involving parties referenced in the JuristGate reports. The nature of these relationships is often declared within the research reports although we can't rule out the possibility some relationships or influences have not been explicitly itemized within every report.