Arrest made after waitress visiting Melbourne on a working holiday had a 'plate smashed into her face' by a stranger as she served customers

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 16:12, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 16:12, 26 May 2026 A woman has been charged after a French waitress was allegedly injured while working at a Melbourne sidewalk cafe. Backpacker Anais Poupon, 19, allegedly had a plate shoved into her face during a shift at cafe La Vallee in Essendon, north Melbourne, about 1pm on Anzac Day. CCTV shows the waitress walked around a corner while holding plates to serve to a table when a woman, walking the other way, almost bumped into her.  The stranger then appears to hit the plate up and into the waitress's face and slapped the other plates to the ground.  In a statement on Tuesday, Victoria Police said a 52-year-old woman from Footscray was arrested at Dandenong Railway Station about 10.50am on Saturday. She has been charged with recklessly causing injury and briefly appeared at Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Sunday where she was granted bail. The young backpacker required dental work after the incident.  'She told me, 'It's your fault',' Ms Poupon said. 'I'm very upset. I did nothing.' French backpacker Anais Poupon (left) was attacked by a stranger (right) on Anzac Day La Vallee owner Josh Rabie said the attack on Ms Poupon (above) made him 'feel sick' La Vallee owner Josh Rabie said the aggressive behaviour made him 'feel sick'. 'She's a lovely girl, she's quiet and it's the last thing you want to happen to anyone,' he said. The Essendon community rallied around the cafe after it shared CCTV of the incident. 'We are beyond shocked,' La Vallee wrote alongside the clip.  'We love being part of the community in Essendon and we hope our followers can share, tag and suggest this to local friends so we can get some justice.' Thousands of Aussies viewed and shared the short video. 'Hope your staff member is okay,' one wrote.  The charged woman will appear at Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court on August 17.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.