Lawyer for Crans-Montana fire victims seeks partial administration of the commune

The complaint

Sébastien Fanti, a lawyer for victims of the fire at the Constellation bar, has lodged a complaint with the Valais Council of State asking for partial administration of the Crans-Montana executive. He confirmed the complaint on Sunday, 1 November, after Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung reported it. Twenty-four victims stand behind the filing, and the fire killed 41 people and injured 115. The request is limited to the financial and legal consequences of the blaze. It also asks for an official investigation into the commune's finances, with binding instructions attached. According to SonntagsZeitung, independent commissioners would take over the financial and legal handling of the disaster under that arrangement.

Financial exposure

Pascal Pichonnaz, a professor of private law at the University of Fribourg, estimates the total bill at between 780 million and one billion francs. Whether the commune would have to carry part of that sum has not been decided. Fanti says the real amounts available to the commune are unknown, although he has reviewed its accounts. He also states that his request for transparency was refused. The commune's budget sets aside 5 million francs a year, a sum Fanti considers insufficient for claims of this size.

“We started from the public accounts for the analysis, and the outcome is clear: the municipality does not have the means to bear its possible liability.”

Scenarios and limits

Fanti's complaint works through several cases. In the most favourable one he sees the commune facing claims of 95 million francs, and in a middle scenario 387.5 million francs. Both figures are well above the 5 million francs budgeted each year. Sandro Fuchs, a finance expert at the ZHAW, calls an extra 100 million francs of debt a severe but still manageable shock for the commune. At 200 million, he says, tax increases, property sales and sharply cut investment would become necessary, and any higher burden is not financeable on current evidence.

Most favourable scenario95

Middle scenario387.5

Most favourable scenario

95 CHF million

Middle scenario

387.5 CHF million

Data from the article text

Leukerbad precedent

SonntagsZeitung cites Leukerbad as a possible warning example. The Valais resort was placed under state supervision in 1999 after a financial debacle that left it with about 346 million francs of debt. For a period, an external administrator and a supervisory commission ran the municipality. Whether the Council of State would go that far for Crans-Montana remains open.

What comes next

The canton confirmed it had received the submissions but stressed that it does not have to guarantee the commune's debts. It said support options could still be examined. The commune told RTS it was not aware of the complaint and could not comment, while the executive declined to speak to SonntagsZeitung. Fanti argues that action is urgent because the 2027 budget must be adopted on 20 December.