Andorra's Espot Calls for Earlier Festival Closures After Santa Anna Unrest

Andorra's head of government, Xavier Espot, has called for a joint review of major festival schedules in response to disturbances during the Santa Anna celebrations in Escaldes-Engordany.

Speaking amid the festivities, Espot questioned whether events from Wednesday to Saturday need to run until 5am each night, given that the main festival falls on Saturday and Sunday. He suggested parishes might close an hour or two earlier or, if maintaining the 5am finish, stop serving alcohol from 4am to reduce risks.

The comments followed unrest in the early hours of Thursday to Friday. Espot stressed the need for coordination among parishes (comuns), the government and organisers to ensure smooth events. "Everyone can do more, but we cannot become a police state to prevent a series of simultaneous events running late into the night," he said.

While acknowledging the need for increased police presence, Espot cautioned against over-policing. "We cannot put a police officer behind every young person, or we would completely undermine the festivities," he added. He described such incidents as longstanding but isolated, urging neither exaggeration nor downplaying. "These are days of fun and celebration, but everything has limits."

Espot also supported, in a personal capacity alongside the Minister of Justice and Interior, equipping traffic agents with body cameras as a deterrent. However, he noted that current public safety laws do not automatically permit this, requiring work by the video surveillance commission and possibly legislative changes.

Escaldes-Engordany's cònsol major, Rosa Gili, echoed the call for institutional dialogue to address concerns, praising coordination with police while noting their role in tasks like crowd control. Authorities have outlined no specific implementation plans or timelines.