Ceremony planned in Grône

A ceremony intended to be "solemn and dignified" has been scheduled in Grône, a small town located in the Rhône valley, not far from the ski resort, according to the State Council of the Alpine canton of Valais (southwest), confirming information from the Swiss agency ATS-Keystone.

Location changed for the ceremony

This ceremony was initially to take place in the sports hall of Crans-Montana, but the location was considered too close to the Convention Centre, which is associated with painful memories after having housed families waiting for news of their loved ones after the incident that caused 41 deaths and 115 injured.

Ceremony details and attendees

The ceremony will allow 800 people to attend, and a live broadcast will also be organized in Crans-Montana by the local authorities. The ceremony will take place in the presence of injured people, relatives of the victims, rescuers, firefighters, police who intervened during the incident, and representatives of federal, cantonal, and municipal authorities.

International officials invited

"Officials from the countries concerned (by the incident) have been invited to the ceremony. We are waiting for confirmation of their representation," the canton also stated. However, none of the people targeted by the criminal investigation opened after the incident will be present in Grône, confirmed to ATS-Keystone by Christophe Darbellay, president of the Valais government.

Recall of the facts

The fire in this bar that occurred during the celebration of New Year's Eve mainly affected teenagers and young adults, many of whom were foreigners, particularly Italians and French. The first elements of the investigation showed that the fire was triggered by sparks from "fountain" candles that ignited soundproofing foam on the ceiling of the basement of the bar during the New Year's Eve celebration.

Legal proceedings and charges

In the context of this case, all the defendants must answer for the same charges of "negligent homicide, bodily injury by negligence, and negligent fire." A total of 17 people have been placed under investigation, including eight current and former officials, including mayor Nicolas Féraud, and seven employees or former employees of the municipality, whose officials admitted shortly after the incident the absence of fire and safety checks in the bar since 2019.

Main defendants to be heard again

The main defendants, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, French co-owners of the bar Le Constellation that was set on fire, must be heard again during two confrontation hearings on November 2 and December 2 of this year. Jacques Moretti has been in provisional custody since mid-August and his arrest for violence committed against his wife at their Valais home.