Private jet sent back to the UK after super wealthy Brits tried to reach French village

A batch of loaded Britons were sent home on the private jet they rented to reach their Cannes villa despite the coronavirus blockade.

Local police intercepted seven men in their 40s and 50s and three women in their 20s after the luxury commercial jet landed at Marseille-Provence airport last Saturday. The group had reserved the plane and helicopters to take them to their rented villa.

A French police source said the organizer of the trip, a Croatian citizen working for the UK finance and real estate agency, had “paid for everything.” He reportedly told French police that “I have money, let’s talk” when they confronted him on the plane.

“He was waiting for the break, with his friends and young companions,” said the source. He said that everyone would go to the villa and lock themselves there, and that there would be no problem.

“But it was obviously a recreational trip, and under containment measures they are strictly prohibited.”

Because the party stayed on the plane and technically did not set foot on French soil, they avoided a fine, MailOnline reports.

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The only fines issued were for the three French helicopter pilots waiting to take them to the Riviera.

The death toll from coronavirus in France is 13,197 as of yesterday. There are now 7,004 people in intensive care units in hospitals across the country.

The country has been closed since March 17 and only allows essential travel that must be justified with a signed paper.

Health director Jérôme Salomon said the restrictions are now making a difference.

He said: “Thanks to these measures, we are in the process of stopping the epidemic.”