In an underground basement bar in central Paris, candles are being lit on every table.
Waiters weave through the crowd, almost brushing against flammable decorations. Inside, a single narrow metal staircase serves as the emergency exit.
At the door, the bouncer sighs: “It really frustrates me, the management won’t listen to me.”
“They haven’t changed anything since the Crans-Montana fire,” he says.
The scene is a clear show of the persistent safety gaps in some nightlife venues, weeks after the Crans-Montana fire in Switzerland, which killed 41 people on 1 January.
In France, however, authorities have stepped up inspections, especially of underground bars and nightlife venues.
According to an instruction from the French Ministry of the Interior, 443 venues have been inspected in 78 departments.
A note sent to Euronews says that non-compliance was found at 195 venues, and that 45 administrative closures were ordered.
In Paris, 164 venues have been inspected since 1 January, according to the Paris prefecture. In total, 21 business properties with basements received an unfavourable safety assessment.
In a separate note sent to Euronews, the same issues repeatedly arise: missing or unsuitable alarm systems, faulty emergency lighting, blocked exits, non-compliant doors, and decorations or materials that could be flammable.
At this stage, none of the venues singled out in Paris has been ordered to close, according to the Paris prefecture.
In the information sent to Euronews, the same problems recur frequently: missing or inadequate alarms, faulty safety lighting, cluttered exits, non-compliant doors, decorations or materials whose fire performance has not been documented.
‘Supported rather than punished’
On the ground, some venue owners say they have already started making changes. Others — like this basement bar in Paris — seem to be operating “as before”, despite the risk of surprise inspections.
For businesses that depend on nightlife, bringing a venue up to code can become a race against the clock.
That is the case for Virginie, who runs the FullMoon bar in Lille.
On the night of 12 February, city authorities carried out a surprise inspection. Her bar was closed immediately for “serious and imminent danger”.
Virginie says officials pointed to the lack of an alarm system, faulty electrical installations, and decorations that did not meet fire-safety standards.
“I didn’t know an alarm was mandatory. As for the electrical installation, I changed everything. For the decorations, I provided all the documents proving it is fire-resistant,” she tells Euronews.
For her, customer safety must come first, even if she believes the sanction is harsh. “It represents a significant investment,” she says.
“The cash reserves I managed to build up will be used to bring the bar up to standard and will probably not be enough … It’s a difficult period, but I see it as a necessary step to fully secure the bar.”
“I understand the authorities’ mission when it comes to safety, but I would have preferred to be supported rather than punished,” she explains.
In the eastern town of Bourg-en-Bresse, the bar La Place Rouge was also closed immediately during an inspection carried out at the end of January.
Its manager, Serge Sadefo, lists what officials flagged. “There was a table in front of the emergency exit, one of the batteries in my fire alarm was faulty, and I had to update my safety logbook,” Sadefo tells Euronews.
He says a previous inspection in June 2025 had already pointed to issues that needed fixing. “There were things to fix — I did some of them, but not all,” he admits.
Compliance has a price: between €6,000 and €7,000, according to the manager.
Sadefo hopes to reopen soon, but in the meantime, the closure is taking a toll: “I don’t feel good, because my venue is closed. I’m losing money.”
He fears he won’t cope if it drags on. “There’s no support, no help. If this continues, I’ll have to shut down for good,” Sadefo concludes.
Taking the initiative to avoid closure
Other bar managers have chosen to act quickly, precisely to avoid a shutdown.
Near the south-eastern town of Valence, Maxime Ogier, co-manager of the Numéro 5 bar, says the tragedy in Switzerland deeply affected him.
“It made me react, realise what was at stake, and above all ask myself: am I up to standard? So the first step I took was to get in touch with the town hall,” Ogier tells Euronews.
Ogier had identified what could have led to a closure, in particular, an emergency exit that needed to be changed quickly.
He carried out work just before the inspectors arrived. His venue was not subject to an administrative closure.
Today, Ogier still has a few costly steps ahead. “I have to change my fire alarm system, because I didn’t have the right one. The alarm alone will cost me between €3,000 and €4,000,” he explains.
Sometimes problems can seem like small details that become critical when a venue is full and an evacuation has to happen within minutes.
Ogier also notes that customers do not always “know what they should be looking at when they enter a venue to feel safe.”
Even though, since the tragedy, some have started asking questions.
“A few customers have asked me if I’m up to standard, if everything is OK, whether I had to put things in place,” Ogier says.
