A group of holidaymakers from the UK who tried to flout France’s Coronavirus restrictions by entering the country in a private jet have been caught and sent back to the UK, according to local reports.
Seven men in the 40s and 50s along with three women in their 20s were aboard the private jet and flying to France’s southern Cannes to stay in a villa they had booked. However, after their luxury business jet landed at Marseille-Provence airport, they were intercepted by French police. Reportedly, the French authorities had not given permission for the jet to land.
A source in the French police had been widely quoted as saying that the organiser of the trip - a Croatian national working in finance - had “paid for everything.” When police boarded the jet shortly after it had landed, the Croatian man reportedly told one of the officers, “I have money, let’s talk.”
“He was looking forward to the break, with his friends and young female escorts. But it was obviously a recreational trip and under the containment measures these are strictly prohibited,” the widely quoted source said. He added that the Croatian man tried to convince the officer into letting the group stay by saying that they would lockdown in the villa that had been booked.
There were also reportedly three luxury helicopters waiting on the airport tarmac to fly the group on to their destination in Cannes.
However, the head of Marseille-Provenance’s border police told La Chain Info that police refused to let the group stay on French territory. The group have now returned to the UK and the three French helicopter pilots have allegedly received fines for being willing to break Coronavirus restrictions.
A number of Twitter users shared their views on the incident.
They should have been arrested and the jet impounded, another bunch of " Rules dont apply to us " rich numpties any MPs amongst them by any chance ?
— TERENCE FINERAN (@TERENCEFINERAN) April 10, 2020
some people are just plain crazy.
— Get Real (@Getrealorelse) April 11, 2020
If 7 men can hire a villa in the south of France, a private jet and possibly the 3 young women?
— Terry Southwood 🇬🇧🇨🇿🔶️#FBPE (@SouthwoodTerry) April 10, 2020
Then any fine would be peanuts to them. They probably factored the cost of a fine into the trip!
It's how the rich live!
Exceptionalism at it's finest.Well done to the French police.
— Fergal Lynch (@fergallynch1) April 10, 2020
More than 13,100 people in France have died after testing positive for the Coronavirus. On Friday, the country’s health ministry said that 7,004 people were in intensive care after a roughly 1% drop from the day before.
“We seem to be reaching a plateau, albeit a high level,” Jerome Salomon, the country’s health ministry director said on Friday.
