Hostelry: death of Diane Barrière-Desseigne

Victim of a serious place accident in July 1995, the rich heir of the Barrière Group (Majestic, Casino Croisette in Cannes) is dead at 44 years old.

A death in the world of luxury tourism: Diane Barrière-Desseigne, 44, the co-president with Dominique Desseigne, her husband, from the Lucien Barrière Group, one of the French leaders in luxury hostelry and casinos (Majestic, Casino Croisette in Cannes, Normandy and Royal in Deauville, Fouquet's in Paris, etc.). The fate of this woman has been particularly tragic. Pretty, intelligente, professional (holder of a DESS diploma among others) and rich (Lucien Barrière's adopted daughter, the owner of the group, she was the sole heir), she was injured in July 1995 in a plane accident. The small private plane, which ran out of gas, crashed in a field between La Môle (Saint-Tropez) and La Baule. Diane Barrière-Desseigne was the sole survivor. A miracle. But she was awfully burned and injured.Her life had been completely changed. A painful period had started, with skin graft and reeducation, from esthetic surgery operations to kinesitherapy treatments. Tetraplegic, continuously under morphine, she had learnt to speak again, kept on being at the head of the group with a courage and an admiration which filled with everybody admiration. Her death, at the end of the film festival, has been a real pain in Cannes.In a press release, the group has saluted her courage. The death will no effect on the capitalistic structure of the chain: the patrimony is in the hands of children and Dominique Desseigne will keep on being at the head as well as providing development while "maintaining the independence of the group".