Defense of a victim of an accident in a restaurant
Alexandre-M. BRAUN is defending a woman who was seriously burned in a restaurant in Saint-Tropez. Le Parisien – Aujourd’hui en France reported on this case in an article available at https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/je-brulais-je-hurlais-gravement-brulee-par-un-serveur-qui-preparait-une-crepe-elle-reclame-justice-04-05-2025-U6GYEGVNAVEZTM3EIJCFPD2P7U.php
“I was burning, I was screaming”: seriously burned by a waiter preparing a crepe, she demands justice
While dining on the terrace of the famous Sénéquier restaurant in Saint-Tropez in 2023, a 47-year-old mother was burned by a waiter preparing a crêpe Suzette. She deplores the slowness of the investigation.
May 4, 2025, at 7:15 a.m.
It was supposed to be a beautiful summer evening. One of those evenings when you sit down with your family on a terrace in Saint-Tropez (Var). Two years later, Nathalie (name has been changed), 47, is still traumatized by the incident.
The blame lies with a simple crêpe Suzette flambéed by a waiter, which caused her serious burns to her head. An investigation is still ongoing at the Draguignan public prosecutor’s office (Var), as confirmed by the latter to Le Parisien.
In Saint-Tropez, Sénéquier is more than just a restaurant, it’s an institution. If you want to sound trendy, you say “THE” Sénéquier. Brigitte Bardot made her mark there in 1955, as did Gréco and Picasso. Then came the epic all-night parties hosted by Eddie Barclay, before Jacques Chirac made it a mandatory stop on his summer vacations.
On August 21, 2023, Nathalie, her husband, and their seven-year-old daughter settled into the famous director’s chairs around 9:45 p.m. “The weather was nice, we were comfortable,” recalls the mother, “even though the terrace was crowded. We were a little cramped.”
A waiter arrived and stood behind her with a frying pan and a burner. He was preparing a crêpe Suzette, one of the restaurant’s iconic desserts, for another table. Nathalie’s husband is concerned about the proximity and asks the waiter twice to move back. The waiter ignores him and replies ironically, asking if he wants him to make him a crepe.
“It was like someone threw acid on me.”
At her husband’s request, Nathalie moved slightly. Blocked by the other chairs, she couldn’t move any further. She continued her conversation without seeing the waiter behind her. Seconds later, she was thrown to the ground. In the shocking CCTV footage we were able to view, a large ball of fire can be seen suddenly rising. “I thought it was an explosion,” she recalls. ”I found myself in a fetal position. I was burning. I was screaming. It was like someone had thrown acid on me. It was endless. Then they sprayed me with water.”
The mother doesn’t dare take her hands away from her face. “It felt like they were stuck there.” Some of her hair was burned. When she opens her eyes again, Nathalie sees a scene of chaos. The neighboring tables have been overturned. A restaurant employee takes the family inside. At the same time, the terrace is quickly cleared, this time with more space between the tables.
The tone rises between Nathalie’s husband and the waiter. The fire department is called. “I feel like they wanted to hide us from the other customers,” Nathalie said afterward. “We were in the way. My daughter was in tears.”
Nathalie is taken care of by the emergency services. The municipal police arrive on the scene. “They asked us lots of strange questions, as if we were responsible!” she says, still surprised today. Customers who witnessed the scene take her side. No report is made, as the local hospital is closed for the summer. The firefighters offer to drive Nathalie to Toulon, but she ultimately refuses. She ends up on the sidewalk with her family.
The feeling that the Sénéquier “wants to cover up the case”
The next day, she filed a complaint with the Sainte-Maxime police. In Île-de-France, where the family returned home, it was found that Nathalie had suffered second-degree burns. At the hospital in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine), where she was examined, she was prescribed 30 days of temporary total disability, not including psychological impact. Having just launched a new professional project, she had to wear a thick white ointment on her face for a month to prevent scarring.
Since then, there has been little or no progress, apart from a thorough psychological assessment confirming her suffering. “I am stunned that, from a legal standpoint, nothing has happened,” sighs Nathalie, who feels that “Le Sénéquier wants to cover up the incident.” She is now being assisted by a lawyer. “She hasn’t even received an apology,” deplores her lawyer, Alexandre Braun. “Not only was Nathalie seriously injured, but the restaurant’s behavior after the accident is incomprehensible.”
In the months that followed, the crêpe Suzette continued to be made in public. However, it has since disappeared from the menu. “This practice is regulated by law,” says Mr. Braun. “Given the risk involved, it is strictly forbidden to fuel the flame with alcohol when a cooking appliance is accessible to the public.” Despite several attempts to contact him, Sénéquier has not responded to our requests for comment.