Stéphane Lamart, founder of an animal welfare association bearing his name since 2000, was dining at Restaurant Loulou Pirate to celebrate a friend's birthday when a server passed his table carrying a tray of the evening's catch, including a live lobster awaiting its turn on the menu. Lamart described the sight as "a scene of horror," and negotiated with staff to set the crustacean aside rather than have it prepared for another diner. At the end of the meal, he paid the 300 euro price and carried it to the water's edge himself, releasing it into the sea beside the restaurant.
It wasn't Lamart's first such rescue. In 2024, he bought three lobsters from a Menton restaurant that had been displayed in a shop window during a heatwave, releasing them into the sea as well. He argues crustaceans deserve the same welfare consideration given to more expressive animals like cats and dogs, and is pushing for French lawmakers to consider legislation on the issue. Restaurant staff reportedly told him he was the second customer to ask them to spare a live lobster.