The once idyllic French town of Saint-Tropez achieved its international fame as a luxury tourist destination that attracted great artists, renowned celebrities and millionaires from the jet set. Today it continues to be synonymous with opulence, although now without so much glamorwhere the important thing seems to be spend as much money as possible. And many restaurants are taking advantage of this at the expense of the most modest customer, with somewhat questionable practices that border on legality.
According to the British newspaper Guardianthere are several luxury restaurants that make a prior selection of customers before accepting reservations, checking if they have already visited the premises to verify what was the amount of your account or how much tip they left. If they do not consider themselves wealthy enough, they are required to spend a stratospheric minimum, or the reservation is directly denied.
The mayoress of Saint-Tropez herself, Sylvie Siri, has declared to local media that she and the entire council “are totally opposed to these despicable practices”, which are “ruining the image of the city”. Also, she has threatened to sanction to restaurants that carry out these practices, calling them “extortion and organized blackmail”, since they do not respect data protection laws when collecting information from diners.
the local newspaper nice matin collects anonymous statements from some workers and customers confirming these practices, “Basically, it’s about whether or not you’re going to spend a lot of money.” Some establishments, instead of lying saying that everything is reserved until September, offer tables setting a minimum cost which can range from 1,500 euros per diner to 5,000 euros per full table.
In addition, although in France the own is discretionary and totally optional on the part of the client, many restaurants expect to receive tips up to 20%to the point that a waiter came to chase an Italian tourist into the parking lot for leaving “only” 500 euros, which corresponded to 10% of the bill.
The mayor has announced that she plans to meet with restaurant owners at the end of the season to “remind them of their responsibilities”, but she is already threatening to withdraw night licenses if they persevere in their blackmailing practices. The council has also distributed stickers throughout the city to encourage customers who feel cheated to go to the authorities to report the frauds.
Provence and the Côte d’Azur 4 (Lonely Planet Region Guides)
Photos | Valentin B. Kremer – Anthony Persegol on Unsplash
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