They face charges<\/a> of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson, while Mrs Moretti also faces a forgery charge linked to an invoice for the foam panels suspected of fuelling the blaze.<\/p>\n Their upmarket restaurant Le Vieux Chalet, in nearby Lens, has been closed since early January. Le Parisien reported that renovation work had since been carried out at the concrete-and-wood building, despite ongoing anger among victims<\/a>\u2019 families.<\/p>\n According to public records in the canton of Valais, a former chef at Le Vieux Chalet, created a company on May 25, SARL Andru, registered at the restaurant\u2019s address.<\/p>\n Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, the mother of Arthur, who died in the fire, talks to journalists in June – AFP<\/p>\n The company\u2019s stated purpose includes running \u201crestaurants, bars, hotels, guesthouses, bakeries, confectioners\u2019 shops or other similar public establishments\u201d, adding to suspicion that the site could reopen under his management. The former employee could not be reached by Le Parisien.<\/p>\n The prospect that the couple\u2019s establishments, including Le Vieux Chalet and Le Senso in Crans-Montana, might reopen has caused anger in Switzerland, France and Italy, whose nationals were among the dead and injured.<\/p>\n A petition launched by victims\u2019 families calling for any reopenings to be blocked on grounds of \u201cdecency\u201d has gathered more than 25,000 signatures.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not asking the courts to convict anyone before trial,\u201d it says. \u201cThe presumption of innocence is a principle we respect. But decency is also a principle. So is respect for the dead. So is restraint, in the face of 41 coffins and 115 injured people.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do not reopen the doors to the public when the courts have not yet closed the case.\u201d<\/p>\n S\u00e9bastien Fanti, a lawyer for some of the victims, told The Telegraph: \u201cFor the families it would be awful to think that business might resume. Personally, I doubt that customers would turn up. People shouldn\u2019t be surprised, either, if they find there are gatherings in these public venues.\u201d<\/p>\n Tobyas, who lost his brother Trystan in the fire, confronts owners of Le Constellation bar in February – AFP<\/p>\n Herv\u00e9 Abello, whose 19-year-old French daughter was seriously injured in the fire, said families feared a reopening could strain tensions locally.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, we, the families of the victims, are particularly sensitive to this,\u201d said Mr Abello, vice-president of the French association REVI Crans-Montana.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Mr Moretti has a long criminal record, while Mrs Moretti is now charged with forgery. They are suspected of having tried to cheat the tax authorities. What about the precautionary principle? What about integrity? Not to mention the potential consequences for public order.\u201d<\/p>\n Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Italy\u2019s ambassador to Switzerland, has also intervened<\/a>. He said he had suggested that relatives launch a joint petition by Italian, Swiss and French families, together with residents of Lens, to demand that the establishment \u201cnot reopen\u201d after victims\u2019 families shared their \u201coutrage\u201d<\/a> with him.<\/p>\n A woman lights a candle at a makeshift memorial outside the \u201cLe Constellation\u201d bar after the fire – Reuters<\/p>\n The municipality of Lens said any licence application would be subject to the same criteria and deadlines as any other request.<\/p>\n Christophe Darbellay, a Valais cantonal minister, recently said Le Constellation itself would \u201cnever again be a bar\u201d and raised the need for a proper memorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n But families said that did not answer the question of Mr and Mrs Moretti\u2019s other restaurants.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat strikes me most is what he doesn\u2019t say,\u201d the father of a Swiss teenager who died told the French capital\u2019s daily. \u201cHe makes absolutely no mention of the fate of the couple\u2019s other establishments.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Laetitia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a6cba433d5ae826bded9ac366b2753e3.jpeg\"\/)
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