Ripoll City Council temporarily closes a Maghrebi bar accused of banning women

The Ripoll City Council, a town governed by Sílvia Orriols (Aliança Catalana), has temporarily closed a Maghrebi café in the municipality accused of banning women from entering. According to E-Notícies, it all started from a police inspection last Tuesday, during which several serious violations were detected, in addition to severe hygiene problems.

The women's bathroom was locked and unusable, expired fire extinguishers, lack of insurance, severe unsanitary conditions, undocumented immigrants... This is the situation police officers found during an inspection last Tuesday at Cafetería Esperanza, a Maghrebi establishment located in Ripoll that, as you can see in the image, even has its entrance sign in Arabic.

In addition to all these violations, several testimonies report that this establishment has banned women from entering (hence the women's bathroom was not operational and locked). Even a girl publicly shared her bad experience at this place. Some time ago, she and a friend were kicked out "for asking if they had beer." "They kicked us out rudely, I had never been treated with such contempt," she explains.

Fines of 10,000 euros

According to E-Notícies, the police inspection detected other violations considered serious and very serious, such as not having the mandatory insurance in order or having expired fire extinguishers. For all these reasons, the Ripoll City Council, governed by Sílvia Orriols (Aliança Catalana), has opened a file that will likely end with a minimum fine of 10,000 euros. Additionally, this same Friday, the establishment was sealed and temporarily closed by local authorities due to the accumulation of violations and lack of hygiene and safety.

An inspection reveals serious violations and identifies two illegal immigrants

The police inspection at this establishment located on Progrés Street in Ripoll, near the train station, uncovered a series of irregularities. It was last Tuesday when officers from the Local Police, Mossos d'Esquadra, and National Police inspected the premises and identified two illegal immigrants.

Additionally, the premises were in deplorable hygienic conditions, they assure. The violations committed by this Cafetería Esperanza and detected by the officers were numerous. They range from having expired fire extinguishers to not having the mandatory insurance in order.

Now this Maghrebi café faces several possible fines of at least 10,000 euros. Although this may not be the biggest problem its owners have to face. Now they also face the possibility of the establishment's closure due to the avalanche of safety and hygiene violations it accumulates. The complaint from the Ripoll City Council requesting the Generalitat to temporarily close the business could end the activity of this establishment full of irregularities and accused of banning women from entering.