The red chairs at Sénéquier are probably the most photographed object in Saint-Tropez. More than the bay, more than the port, more than the yachts. But here's the funny part: nobody actually knows why they're red.
The place has existed since 1887, founded by the Sénéquier family, confectioners by trade, specialists in white nougat with lavender honey. The café's photo archives show white chairs, then blue ones, then green in the 1930s. Red appears in a photograph from 1951. The most likely story: the owner at the time, Paul Sénéquier, ordered them in red after a trip to Venice where he'd been struck by the Café Florian. Impossible to prove. The invoices from back then were never kept.
Today, the establishment (bought by the Costes family in 2008) has locked down the exact shade, a proprietary "Sénéquier red" manufactured to spec by a factory near Marseille. The model is specific: beech wood stained, woven resin seat to withstand salt. Each chair costs 380 euros. There are 124 on the terrace. Do the maths. That's why the servers guard the furniture like pitbulls.
