Ciutadella City Council has been heavily criticised after hundreds of people gathered in front of Cas Comte de Ciutadella for the first Sant Joan celebrations and terraces in the centre of town were heaving with people.
The Insular Director of the State Administration in Menorca, Isabel López Manchón, has accused Ciutadella City Council of "relying excessively on residents to be responsible" saying Local Police should have been deployed as a precautionary measure.
“The presence of Local Police was expected to disperse possible crowds, but they were not there and the City Council was overconfident in expecting residents to be responsible,” she said.
Mayor Joana Gomila insisted on appealing to individual responsibility when the City Council and the Caixers Board for the biennium agreed to suspend this year's festivities due to pandemic restrictions.
"This was been a one-off irresponsible act, which should not have happened,” she admitted, but pointed out that "the majority of people celebrated Sant Joan with prudence and with heart".
Opposition groups, PP and the Ciudadanos have demanded an explanation from Mayor Gomila.
"The rules are there to be met by residents and must be enforced by the authorities,” said PP Municipal Group Spokesperson, Antoni Juaneda. "The Mayor and the Police should have enforced the instructions, which didn’t happen and constitutes an irresponsibility on the part of Mayor Gomila to tolerate events like this, which put the health of residents at risk."