Jacques and Jessica Moretti: French restaurateurs at the bar in Crans-Montana hit by the New Year's Eve fire

The victims of New Year's Eve in Crans-Montana are mainly young people, because the bar is known to be frequented mainly by them.

The Le Constellation bar-disco in Crans-Montana, devastated by a fire on New Year's Eve that claimed dozens of lives and injured more than a hundred, belongs to a pair of French restaurateurs of Corsican origin, Jacques and Jessica Moretti.

The Morettis moved to the Valais Plateau in the early 2000s and in 2015 took over Le Constellation, which was abandoned at the time. This was reported by Corse-Matin, according to which the couple subsequently turned the establishment into a nightlife landmark, particularly popular during the peak tourist season.The establishment could seat up to 300 people indoors and about 40 on the terrace. The Valais Canton trade register also shows that Jessica and Jacques Moretti also own two other businesses: Le Senso, a bar-restaurant specialising in hamburgers in the village of Crans-Montana, and Le Vieux-Chalet, in the neighbouring village of Lens, which presents itself as an 'inn'.

At the time of the fire, Jessica Moretti was inside the premises and was injured, suffering burns to one arm.

Her husband Jacques Moretti, however, was not present, as he was at another business run by the couple. Both survived, but were obviously deeply shaken by the incident.