While the stars confer cachet and financial security, Mr. Bras’s audacious move is also reflective of a new generation of chefs, some of whom are eager to escape from the punishing strain of unpredictable rankings and malicious food critics.

In 2015, the Swiss establishment Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, near Lausanne, was designated the best restaurant in the world in La Liste, rankings commissioned by the French Foreign Ministry. A year later, its chef, Benoît Violier, 44, shot himself to death with his own gun. At the time, some fellow chefs asked whether the pressure of retaining his three Michelin stars had pushed him to take his own life.

The incredible stress aside, industry experts noted the financial burden of retaining a third star — including maintaining a refined décor and employing a small army of fastidious staff — at a time when French cuisine has been democratized and many French people do not want to spend a fortune on dinner.

“Three stars mean that everything must be perfect, at any time, in every plate,” said Yves Bontoux, a consultant for six French Michelin-starred restaurants. “One must be passionate, a genius, but mostly a workaholic, because you have to be working in your restaurant from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day, nonstop.”

Claire Dorland-Clauzel, a member of Michelin’s executive committee, said Mr. Bras’s request to remove his three stars was a first for the guide in France. But some three-star restaurateurs have shuttered their restaurants, thereby giving up their stars.

“Some chefs are very, very motivated by the stars, and others make different choices,” she said. “We understand this — this is what excellence is about, as in the arts or sports.”

She quickly added that while the guide would review Mr. Bras’s request, stripping him of his stars was not a foregone conclusion. “The guide isn’t made for chefs,” she said, “it’s made for clients, and we have our own freedom of criticism, our own editorial freedom.”