Escorts and a luxury villa in Cannes: Three rich people from London planned to spend Easter – despite the travel restrictions due to the Corona crisis.
The French authorities had received wind from a UK travel company on April 4. A private charter company had registered a flight with 10 passengers. According to information from “CNN” around seven men between the ages of 40 and 50 – in addition to the businessmen, a secretary, a translator and two bodyguards also traveled – and three women “around 25”.
Rented villa for 57,000 euros per night
However, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, entry is strictly prohibited in most European countries. This is also the case in France, where only essential, necessary trips are permitted, such as for visits to the doctor or business trips.
Even before departure, the French border authorities warned the tourists: Only French citizens – two men and one woman – are allowed to enter, all others are refused entry. The group of 10 ignored the warning.
When the Embraer Legacy landed in Marseille, three private helicopters were waiting for the group to fly to Cannes. One of the billionaires, a Croat, had the magnificent one Villa Alang Alang rented. Cost per night: 57,000 euros. But not only the helicopters were waiting for the party-hungry – the French police were already on the runway.
They wanted to make it a “business trip”
The businessmen tried to make excuses to convince the authorities to let them enter. These were not holidays, one of them said, but a business trip. It is a project with a huge investment in France. 994 jobs would depend on it.
The police did not take the explanation from the man. He then called the officials “idiots”. The other businessmen suggested paying a fine if they were allowed to travel to Cannes for this.
Nothing was useful: After hours of discussions, 9 people traveled back to London by charter. One of the businessmen rented a charter in Marseille and flew to Berlin.
