Groupe Barrière is a brand under which two groups are marketed: Groupe Lucien Barrière (GLB) and Société fermière du casino municipal de Cannes (SFCMC). It was founded in 1912 by François André, and then managedin successionby

Lucien Barrière Lucien Barrière (14 January 1923 – 17 September 1990) was a prominent French entrepreneur and businessman, best known as the founder and heir of the Lucien Barrière group. This group stands as one of the largest conglomerates comprising ca ...

, Diane Barrière-Desseigne, Dominique Desseigne, then Alexandre Barrière and Joy Desseigne-Barrière. It operates casinos in Europe. The group also operates in the French luxury hotel industry and in the catering and

leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

industries.

History

François André, founder

*1912–1951: re-inventing the

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

and

La Baule La Baule-Escoublac (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Écoubiâ'', , ), commonly referred to as La Baule, is a communes of France, commune in Loire-Atlantique, a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire, western France. History Seaside re ...

seaside resorts As a young man from

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the early 20th century, François André started a casino business by acquiring the

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

casino in Belgium, while Eugène Cornuché, his partner, began building the Hôtel Normandy and having the

casino rebuilt in 1912. In 1918, François André set up the Haussmann gaming circle in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and continued to grow his business by designing the

resort based on the Deauville model and by purchasing the Hôtel Royal and casino in 1923. He invented the modern day resort concept by combining casinos, luxury hotels and sports facilities all on one site. In 1926, François André took on the construction of the Hôtel Hermitage at

. in 1927, he took over from Eugène Cornuché as managing director of SHCD (Société des Hôtels et Casino de Deauville). He then had the Hôtel du Golf in Deauville built.

Lucien Barrière

*1951–1987 – Groupe Lucien Barrière's founding and development throughout France In 1951,

, François André's nephew, joined the group. In 1957 Lucien Barrière was appointed to the Board of several of the group's entities and became his uncle's sole legal heir in 1961. He undertook a project to modernise and develop the group by buying new establishments in Trouville,

Dinard Dinard (; , ; Gallo: ''Dinard'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, northwestern France. Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a holiday destination, and this has resul ...

, St-Malo,

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; ) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the Departments of France, department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Capital of the Côte de Beauté, Royan is one of the mai ...

and

Enghien-les-Bains Enghien-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departements of France, department of Val-d'Oise, France. It is located in the northern suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Enghien-les-Bains is famous as a s ...

. For a time, the group's expansion came up against the licensing system, which firmly regulated the gambling sector. In 1981, the managers of the Palm Beach casino in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, which belonged to the Barrière group, were implicated in a fraud case, accused of violating the legislation on gaming regulations due to improper roulette payments. The Barrière group believed that it was being blackmailed by the Socialist government to obtain a license. In 1980, SHCLB (Société Hôtelière de la Chaîne Lucien Barrière) was founded to cover the

hotels and casinos. In 1987, Lucien Barrière participated in the arrival of slot machines in France.

Diane Barrière-Desseigne

*1990–2000: In the early 1990s,

Accor Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor ope ...

became a major SHCLB shareholder. In 1990, Diane Barrière-Desseigne succeeded her father, Lucien Barrière, and launched major renovation projects. On top of their prestige, the hotels are closely connected to the film industry and the Arts. The elite figures of the film industry visit the Normandy Barrière and the Royal Barrière during the American Film Festival in Deauville. In 1995, Diane Barrière-Desseigne suffered a very serious plane accident and from 1997, her husband Dominique Desseigne co-managed the SHCD and SHCLB at her side. In 1998, SHCD bought Fouquet's restaurant and brand. Diane Barrière-Desseigne died in 2001. Dominique Desseigne took over group management and became chairman of SFCMC.

Dominique Desseigne

*Since 2001: Under the chairmanship of Dominique Desseigne, the SHCD and the SHCLB took on a new dimension with the first international developments. In 2003, SHCLB opened the Casino Barrière de

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, which became the leading casino in Switzerland in 2008 in terms of total gross gaming takings.*Source: Commission Fédérale des Maisons de Jeux en Suisse (Swiss Casino Federal Gaming Commission) During the same year, SHCD took over the Ryads Resort Development, owner of the land on which the Hôtel Naoura Barrière in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

(Morocco) was later built, supported by top ranking investors who purchased an equity stake in Ryads Resort Development. In 2004, the Desseigne-Barrière family,

and Colony Capital investment funds decided to team up as Société Hôtelière de la Chaîne Lucien Barrière, subsequently renamed Groupe Lucien Barrière, which combined the businesses of SHCD, SHCLB and Accor Casinos to create a prestigious casino and hotel group. Since 2005, the expansion has continued with the opening of

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

s in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Leucate, Blotzheim and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, the opening of the Naoura Barrière in

(Morocco), Hôtel Fouquet's Barrière in

and the Spark (fitness centre for treatments, sport and Spa) in

. The Hôtel Barrière

opened during autumn 2010 and the hotel complex and balneo-therapy centre adjoining the Casino Barrière de Ribeauvillé was forecast to open late 2011. During the same period, the public service concessions of the Barrière Casinos in

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Cassis Cassis (; Occitan: ''Cassís'') is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera, in Southern France. It is a ...

and Saint Raphaël were renewed, which revealed the confidence these towns place in the group. On 15 April 2009,

Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...

sold its Groupe Lucien Barrière shares to

, which now holds a 49% equity stake in the company. In 2010, Groupe Lucien Barrière and Française des Jeux designed an on-line gaming platform with 3D online gaming, which is called LB Poker company.

Groupe Barrière establishments

Hotels

Barrière includes 18 hotels (16 in Metropolitan France, 1 in St Barth and 1 in Marrakech), with a majority of hotels ranked as five star.

Hotel Barrière Le Fouquet's Paris*****

Hotel Barrière Le Normandy ***** Hotel Barrière Le Royal Deauville***** Hôtel du Golf ****

Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes ***** Le Gray D'Albion Barrière ***** Courchevel Hotel Barrière Les Neiges Courchevel *****

Grand Hôtel Dinard*****

Grand Hôtel Enghien **** Hôtel du Lac****

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...

Le Westminster ****

Castel Marie-Louise ***** Le Royal La Baule ***** L' Hermitage *****

Hôtel & Ryads Le Naoura *****

Resort Barrière Lille ***** Ribeauvillé Resort Barrière Ribeauvillé ****

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...

Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf ***** (end of 2017)

Casinos

The 37 casinos are located in resorts along the French coast and in major cities.

France

, Bénodet,

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

, Blotzheim,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

Carnac Carnac (; , ) is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihan department in north-western France. Its inhabitants are called ''Carnacois'' in French. Carnac is renowned for the Carnac stones – on ...

, Carry-le-Rouet,

Cassis Cassis (; Occitan: ''Cassís'') is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera, in Southern France. It is a ...

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

Jonzac Jonzac (; ) is a commune of the Charente-Maritime department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. The historian Jean Glénisson (1921–2010) was born in Jonzac as well as the philosopher Jean Hyppolite (1907–1968). Geography The r ...

, Leucate,

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Ouistreham Ouistreham () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy region in northwestern France. Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town borders t ...

Perros-Guirec Perros-Guirec (; ) is a commune in the department of Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany. It has been a seaside resort since the end of the 19th century. Geography Climate Perros-Guirec has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). T ...

, Ribeauvillé,

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, Les Sables d'Olonne,

Sainte-Maxime Sainte-Maxime (; Occitan language, Occitan and Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Santa Maxima'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France ...

, Saint-Raphaël,

and Trouville.

Switzerland

Courrendlin,

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

and Montreux Casino.

Egypt

Restaurants and bars

Groupe Lucien Barrière has 131 bars and

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s throughout the group's casinos and hotels, which range from snacks to 5-star cuisine, as well as Fouquet's brasseries in

and

Sport and well-being

*Spark, soins, sport et spa –

*Le Spa Diane Barrière de l' Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet's –

*Le Spa Diane Barrière du Naoura Barrière –

*Centre de thalassothérapie Thalgo –

Golf courses *Golf Barrière –

*Golf Barrière de Saint-Julien –

*Golf International Barrière –

Tennis clubs *Tennis club de l’Hôtel du Golf –

*Tennis Country Club Barrière –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groupe Lucien Barriere Gambling in France French business families Gambling companies of France Hospitality companies of France Hotel chains in France French companies established in 1912 Companies based in Paris Gambling websites Gaming websites