Manhattan?s 21 club, and its owner Orient-Express Hotels Inc. of Bermuda and Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. of New York have been named as defendants in a $5.3 million discrimination lawsuit launched by three former waiters.

Rene Bordet, 68, and Jean Claude Lesbre, 63, worked at 21 as waiters and floor captains for 10 years until they were fired in 2004, and Yves Thepault, 68, was a waiter at the restaurant for 14 years until he was sacked in 2005, court papers say.

They have accused the posh eatery of firing them because of their ages and because they are French.

?In 2004 and 2005, defendants engaged in a concerted and egregious course of action to rid defendant 21 club Inc. of its older and long-term employees of French national origin,? the three said in papers filed Friday in Manhattan?s State Supreme Court.

Court papers said 21 fired Bordet and Lesbre after ?fabricated and false allegations of drinking on the job,? while Thepault was let go for ?gross insubordination? after an argument with a chef over a hamburger.

Court documents allege that non-French employees, who were younger were not punished for similar, proven, inappropriate behaviour, or they got less severe disciplinary responses.

The waiters also allege that the restaurant?s management ?further created and fostered an environment rife with anti-French sentiment.

Bordet is asking for at least $125,000, Lesbre, $150,000, and Thepault, $100,000.

The lawsuit also asks $5 million in punitive damages.