The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the deadly fire that occurred in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on New Year's Eve. The move is in order "to support the French families" of victims, as parallel investigations continue by Swiss authorities.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far confirmed the deaths of nine French nationals, including several minors, while 23 French nationals have been injured.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau on Monday expressed her "deepest compassion to them and their families".
While she said "Swiss authorities remain competent to investigate the sequence of events and determine any liability", a separate inviestigation is being opened up by the "mass casualty incidents" unit of the Paris prosecutor's office.
This would "allow the French victims and their families to have a common point of contact in France and to facilitate, if necessary, their communication with the Swiss authorities," she explained.
The association France Victimes has also been mobilised by the public prosecutor's office to offer psychological and legal support to victims and their families, she indicated.
All 40 victims of Swiss New Year ski resort blaze identified, including 9 French
The fire in the basement of the "Le Constellation" bar on New Year's Eve claimed 40 lives, ranging in age from 14 to 39, half of them minors. Among the victims were 22 Swiss citizens, one of whom also held French nationality, and 18 foreign nationals, according to the Valais cantonal police.
The tragedy also left 116 people injured, 83 of whom remain hospitalised. These include 69 Swiss, 23 French, and 12 Italians, some of whom hold dual nationality.
Negligence
The authorities have said they believe the fire started when people celebrating New Year raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached, setting light to sound insulating foam on the ceiling of the bar's basement.
The bar's patrons, primarily teenagers and young adults, were trapped by the flames.
The bar belongs to two French nationals, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, who have been under investigation since Saturday for "manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence, and arson by negligence."
Jacques Moretti, who was imprisoned in Savoie in 2005, is known for pimping cases dating back some twenty years, a source close to the case confirmed to French news agency AFP, corroborating information published by Le Parisien on Monday.
Swiss launch probe of bar managers after deadly fire in ski resort
Meanwhile, Swiss local authorities admitted Tuesday that fire safety inspections had not been carried out for the past five years at the bar.
"Periodic inspections were not conducted between 2020 and 2025. We bitterly regret this," Crans-Montana mayor Nicolas Feraud told a press conference.
In a statement issued at the press conference, the Municipality of Crans-Montana said it had gone through all the documents in the file submitted to the Wallis canton public prosecutor's office following the fire.
It said the documents detail "administrative procedures relating to the establishment's compliance".
Memorial ceremony
"Although more than 1,400 fire inspections were carried out in the municipality in 2025 alone, the municipal council deeply regrets discovering that this establishment had failed to undergo periodic inspections between 2020 and 2025."
The council said it would commission a specialist external agency to inspect all public establishments and would ban pyrotechnic devices indoors.
"The Municipality of Crans-Montana remains fully committed to supporting the victims of this tragedy and their families and loved ones, who are constantly in its thoughts," the statement said.
"It will continue to do everything in its power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."
A memorial ceremony is planned for Friday in Switzerland. The French government spokesperson announced that President Emmanuel Macron would attend in person.
(with newswires)
