The French co-owners of Le Constellation—the Swiss nightclub where 41 died in a New Year’s Eve tragedy—were jostled by grieving relatives as they arrived to testify at the trial which could establish their culpability for the fire.
Jacques and Jessica Moretti—currently deemed a flight risk and under police supervision—blame waitress Cyane Panine, 24, who died at the scene for starting the fire.
With 41 people dead and at least 115 injured in the luxury ski resort blaze, there is growing public anger. Grieving father Christian Podoux told reporters:
I want Jessica Moretti to know how hard she has hit fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. She distanced herself, left the Constellation. Others, the young people, helped so much, and she just left. That’s not right.
Although public anger is focused on the Morettis, there is also some scrutiny of the authorities in Crans-Montana, which had not carried out fire safety inspections since 2019.
