The life of Yannick Alléno and his whole family changed one night in May. While he was stopped at a red light in the middle of Paris, after finishing his evening shift at his restaurant Father & Son Burger located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, Antoine Alléno was violently hit by a drunk driver, repeat offender, who had just stolen an Audi RS6. On his scooter, with a passenger behind him who only suffered injuries, the son of Yannick Alléno died. He was only 24 years old and a very bright future ahead of him. Although the man who took his life has been indicted for homicide and involuntary aggravated injuries and that he has been remanded in custody, Yannick Alléno is still angry.
Four months after the tragedy, the famous 53-year-old multi-starred chef, surrounded by his ex-wife Isabelle and their son Thomas, gives a long interview to the Sunday newspaper. As Yannick Alléno announced shortly after Antoine’s death, he created the Antoine Alléno association to help relatives of young victims of violence, a project launched next Tuesday.
You see your kid behind glass
Despite his status as a great chef known throughout the world and his great notoriety, Yannick Alléno was faced with the same reality as other bereaved families. Today he tells all about this night of horror, the one during which he was told of the death of his son, without any humanity. “The night of the tragedy, we arrived at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris. A gloomy room, with a dilapidated chairremembers the one who officiates in particular at the Pavillon Ledoyen in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. We were handed a piece of paper, the contact of a person in case we needed psychological support. And then that’s all. Not even a glass of water. At 3 o’clock in the morning, we all three left each on our side.
In shock, Yannick Alléno, his ex-wife and their son Thomas followed the process by going to where Antoine lay. “The next day you want to see your child. It takes place at the forensic institute in a sordid building behind the Gare de Lyon. You see your kid behind glass“, recalls the chef to the JDD. Fortunately, someone then showed a little more humanity. “We met a wonderful kind and attentive lady. Someone human and it did us good because in the hospital we were alone. Without anything“, confides Isabelle, Antoine’s mother. This “wonderful lady” then explained to them that they had just become “paranges”. “She had quite a pretty expression. There is no word in the dictionary to describe parents who lose a child. She said to us: ‘From now on, you are ‘paranges’. parents with an angel“, shares Yannick Alléno. Thirty-six hours after the death of their son, his body was returned to them, when some parents have to wait up to three weeks…
“It is not possible. We became aware of an unknown world and we wondered how to support the relatives of these young victims, explains Yannick Alléno. I want to put my notoriety at the service of the common good. In this fight we need everyone.“
The interview with Yannick Alléno, his ex-wife Isabelle and their son Thomas can be found in full in the September 18, 2022 issue of Sunday newspaper.