“Our ambition is to bring the group’s great era back to life”

It was also a letter from the eldest of the siblings that convinced the double Oscar-winning actor: “I explained to him how much sense it made for him to be the guest of honor for the fiftieth anniversary of the festival , because of the link that his family maintains with Deauville. I also slipped in a few photos taken in Deauville: his father with my grandparents and my mother in 1978, him and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones when they met in 1998. An hour later, I received a message and immediately I met Michael Douglas in the hotel lobby. » The deal is concluded in the manner of his ancestors, past masters in the art of bringing together the biggest stars.

For a year, Alexandre Barrière, 37, and Joy Desseigne-Barrière, three years his junior, have been running the family business created in 1912 by their great-granduncle, François André. They represent the fourth generation at the head of the group. They spent their entire youth together, only separated when he left to study in the United States and she went to work in London, before meeting again in 2020. Accomplices, they call each other “big sister” and “little brother ”, but are distinguished by very different temperaments. Alexander loves swimming in frozen lakes – 0.3 degrees precisely – in Lapland or Svalbard, off the Greenland Sea, a place more populated by bears than humans, while Joy prefers warm destinations – special mention to Jordan, his favorite – for less extreme activities.

19 luxury hotels, 7,000 employees worldwide and 1.3 billion euros in turnover

“We go to very different places and it nourishes us,” says Joy. In work, this complementarity also works wonderfully. “We talk about everything and we exchange a lot. We do not have a predefined scope and decisions are made naturally,” she emphasizes. Everyone’s tropisms do the rest: Alexandre turned to legal issues, public policy and lobbying; Joy is at the forefront of data analysis, CSR and aspects related to responsible gaming.

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Heirs to a French jewel which today represents 32 casinos, a gaming circle, 19 luxury hotels, 7,000 employees worldwide and 1.3 billion euros in turnover, the two bosses want to hand over their empire at the center of the game. “Our group has lost the aura it had in the 20th century. Our ambition is to bring the great Barrière era back to life,” explains Alexandre.

The eldest of the siblings also deplores the lack of consideration from public authorities: “In France, our casinos pay more than 55% of their turnover to the State and communities when at the same time Gafam are taxed in average of 9% of their profits and, for several years, additionally subject to a levy of 3% on their turnover. The Constitution, however, stipulates that everyone must contribute to the extent of their abilities. It seems that the Barrière group has more abilities than the Gafam. We do not ask to be treated better than others. But no less good either. »

Today, there is no longer any establishment on the Deauville seafront that has not been rehabilitated. And this is just the beginning

Alexandre Barriere

The company is campaigning for recognition of its role in the animation of communities and the direct and indirect jobs it generates. To put a little more weight on the authorities, Grégory Rabuel, the general director of the Barrière group, has just been appointed head of the Casinos de France union.

For a year, Joy and Alexandre have been working to restore the legend. The Ciro’s and Noto restaurants, the Normandy kitchen and spa, the facade of the casino, extensive renovation operations have been launched. All in Deauville, the cradle of the group and its flagship. In the Normandy seaside town, their predecessors built almost everything. Hotels, golf courses, tennis courts, Olympic swimming pool… They have largely contributed to making the Normandy city an iconic place synonymous with dreams and excellence, attracting all of Paris and the international elite. If Joy and Alexandre have taken up the torch, it is also to continue this anchoring. “Today, there is no longer any establishment on the Deauville seafront that has not been rehabilitated. And this is just the beginning,” assures the eldest.

The pair also wants to initiate an upscaling of its various addresses and those to come. With, among others, the “very ambitious” objective of developing the Barrière group’s hotel portfolio in the next five years. And this, while continuing their vertical integration strategy already underway, such as the acquisition of a majority stake in the company L’Éclair de Génie of chef Christophe Adam who now takes care of breakfasts in certain hotels of the group .

The crucial challenge for the years to come is to maintain brand consistency

Joy Barriere

“From LVMH to Apple, we observe that in general the companies that succeed and offer quality products are those that best control the value chain,” assures Alexandre. In its sights: the diversification of the company’s sources of income. Apart from destinations like Cannes and Courchevel whose model cannot be duplicated elsewhere, the Barrière group in fact derives most of its turnover from its casinos. A clear risk. The very recent acquisition of the Loulou group and its very chic restaurants is part of this desire for diversification. The opening of a Loulou establishment in Courchevel, within the Les Neiges palace this winter, illustrates the importance of this collaboration. “We are very proud of this marriage,” assures Joy. It is a true partnership in which everyone brings their know-how and benefits from the strengths of the other. It is also a story between a brother and a sister, Gilles and Claire Malafosse, which adds a notion of strong identification. »

In this flow of disparate maneuvers, the duo takes care not to lose its soul and its readability. “We have two strong brands, Barrière and Fouquet’s, and a heterogeneous hotel offering with a majority of 5-stars, a palace and some 4-stars. The crucial issue for the years to come is therefore to maintain brand consistency,” warns Joy. This is the heart of their vision: to be part of the continuity of the values ​​advocated by François André. Legendary figure of casino operators and French luxury, this Ardèche peasant who went to Paris to become a funeral director, convicted of illegally running gambling circles and hero of the Great War, has always made it a point of honor to treat his people well. employees.

Demanding but deeply human, he had no trouble poaching the best elements of the competition, everyone rushing to share the adventures of the inventor of the “resort” concept. Trained in his image, Lucien Barrière continued his action before his daughter Diane took up the torch.

Mr. Barrière, always attentive, was very human despite his responsibilities. I was spoiled and when I stopped

aRoger Bastoni, former head concierge at the Majestic in Cannes

Roger Bastoni, more than forty years in the house and former head concierge at the Majestic in Cannes.

His passion for the business is such that he passed the virus on to his son, Gilles, who joined the hotel in 2006. “I am a child of the Majestic, it is my second home. The reception manager is my godfather and, when I was little, I used to come and have breakfast in the dressing room. Working here is a real source of pride and I wouldn’t leave this job for anything in the world. When I get offers from the competition, I don’t even look at them. »

“I sometimes go to establishments that are not Barrière and realize, through conversations, that a particular director or manager is a veteran of the group,” Joy is surprised. When they tell me anecdotes about my grandfather or my mother, their eyes always light up. This same sparkle that I find in the testimonies of those who make the group on a daily basis. For me, it’s important because I learn to discover my mother and my grandfather through their eyes. » Indeed, the youngest in the family was only 2 months old when Lucien Barrière died, at the age of 67. And only 10 years old when his mother, Diane, died at the age of 44, six years after being the victim of a terrible plane crash which left her with serious after-effects.

My grandfather died prematurely. My mother too. She found herself on a plane without fuel when she was 38 years old. So, when someone tells me that I have my life ahead of me…

Alexandre Barriere

Alexandre still has vivid memories of her, inhabited by this maternal figure that he carries in his heart: “There are no words to express what I feel, my love for her. You would have to be Arthur Rimbaud for that. What I can say is that for me it is still there. » So, the eldest likes to find himself among objects recalling the memory of the family. Archives, photo albums, press clippings. He feeds on it, dives into memories. His treasures. “I want to be worthy of my mother. I want her to be proud of me. So, I try to do my best, always asking myself what she would have expected of me. »

As a man in a hurry, the young co-president is chasing lost time: “My grandfather died prematurely. My mother too. She found herself on a plane without fuel when she was 38 years old. So, when I am told that I have my life ahead of me…” The 37-year-old heir has already written his will. In the event of misfortune, it will be up to Joy, his sister, to guarantee the integrity and sustainability of what is, for the Barrières, more than a group: a century-old family adventure.