THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
May 31, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
The Telegraph
The Telegraph
30 Apr 2024
Henry Samuel


‘Run away!’, tourists told, from cafe on D-day beach that hates the English

A Second World War tour guide has criticised a cafe overlooking Normandy’s Omaha beach, claiming it declined to serve a group of visiting British soldiers “because they are English”.

Creperie la Falaise, in Vierville-sur-Mer, has pride of place near the famed coastline stormed by Allied troops on D-Day as they battled to liberate France from Nazi occupation.

With the landmark 80th anniversary of D-Day just weeks away, and despite local business’s reliance on foreign visitors, battlefield guide Eugenie Brooks said troops she took to the eatery were refused service.

“This cafe, Vierville Draw, at Omaha Beach, in Normandy, refused to serve my British Army soldiers today as “they are English”,’ she wrote on Twitter, adding: “An utter disgrace and I will never ever, ever take any of my tours there again.”

Ms Brooks said that the group were “well behaved junior soldiers all smartly dressed”. She said the incident left her “fuming”.

The American diner-themed cafe has pictures from inside it showing the flags of the world, including Britain’s Union flag. 

The cafe did not respond to calls from The Telegraph.

The group were far from the only ones to leave the premises with a bad taste in their mouths. TripAdvisor gave it a two-star rating and many of the comments were deeply negative with several describing the experience as “horrible”.

Omaha saw the most casualties of all five Allied landing beaches on D-Day
Omaha saw the most casualties of all five Allied landing beaches on D-Day Credit: REUTERS/National Archives of Canada

One visitor, who said they were there this month, said they had the “worst customer experience ever” and claimed the establishment showed “utter contempt for customers and visitors from the UK”.

Another who posted yesterday said they and “a small party of descendants of servicemen visiting Omaha beach” received “appalling service” and were “ignored”.

One furious commentator wrote: “Backstabbing French wouldn’t have their business if it had not been for the great sacrifices of the English and the Allies.”

British visitors are not the only ones to receive sub-par treatment.

One French family wrote: “Run away!”.

The Normandy tourism board swiftly reacted to the snowballing comments, writing: “Morning Eugenie. Thanks for pointing this out to us. It’s utterly unbelievable. 

“British visitors and soldiers will of course always be welcome here in Normandy, and the nearby British Normandy Memorial bears witness to the history we share.”

Standing with Giants installation at the British Normandy Memorial
Thousands expected to visit the For Your Tomorrow installation at the British Normandy Memorial on the 80th anniversary of D-Day Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

The cafe is located less than a mile away from the D-Day museum in Omaha and a short distance from the Overlord Museum and Normandy American Cemetery.

Omaha saw the Allies take the most casualties with around 2,400 American troops killed by German gunners and artillery on June 6 1944, the first day of the effort to drive the Nazis out of France.

During Operation Overlord, Allied troops landed on five Normandy beaches codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

After fierce fighting, some 34,000 Allied troops had landed by nightfall.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron,  the French president, Joe Biden, the US president, and Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, will attend this year’s official international ceremony on Thursday 6 June on Omaha Beach.

King Charles has “made it a personal mission” to travel to Normandy for the commemorations despite suffering from cancer, along with the Prince of Wales.