Crepe Vendor Stitched After Punch in Festival Power Dispute

Ernesto Ledesma, a well-known crepe vendor at Andorra's major festivals, received six internal and six external stitches to his lip after a French street vendor punched him during Arinsal's festa major on Friday night. The assault arose from a dispute over an electrical meter Ledesma had legally installed 13 years ago at the base of the Arinsal telecabina.

Ledesma, an Argentine who runs a mobile creperie from Encamp and appears at various fairs, activated the meter on Thursday following approval from Nord Andorra, the local energy provider, which he pays for directly. On Friday afternoon, he discovered an unauthorized cable linked to it from a nearby food truck operated by the French man, approximately 50 years old and a regular Andorran festival visitor but not a resident.

After consulting festival commission staff and Nord Andorra personnel, Ledesma disconnected the cable and posted a note identifying it as "Creperia Ernesto's meter." Around 9:50 p.m., while serving customers during the busy botifarra event after the Marrades cheese chase, the vendor approached. Ledesma recounted that the man accused him of taking sales spots at Andorran festivals, demanded power access, and threatened to cut his supply.

The confrontation escalated when the man allegedly opened Ledesma's truck door uninvited, struck him in the face, instructed a worker to record the scene, threatened the employee, and tossed counter items. The blow caused heavy bleeding from a lip wound. Festival organizers, Nord Andorra representatives—who had already notified police—and commission members urged Ledesma to shut down and seek hospital care. Officers arrested the suspect on charges of assault against physical integrity.

Nord Andorra has verified the meter's legitimacy. Ledesma, who closed his stand for the weekend due to the injury, intends to seek full compensation. He noted a history of rivalry with the vendor, stressed that his own generator was irrelevant, and thanked online supporters while affirming that justice will prevail.