LONDON - A group of billionaires attempting to land in the south of France and travel to their £50,000 a night luxury villa during the coronavirus lockdown have been ordered to return to the UK.
The party of ten, three businessmen, three young women and various staff, were planning to fly by helicopter to a stunning £60m villa called Alang Alang where they would stay during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But customs and police officers barred them from stepping off the jet and ordered them to return to the UK following a three-hour standoff on the tarmac.
Video obtained by Mail Online - and filmed from inside the private jet- show a dozen police waiting on the tarmac.
An official in a red high viz jacket can be seen talking with a police officer moments after the private jet landed at Marseille-Provence airport.
A member of the travelling party told Mail Online they were not holidaymakers but three billionaires on their way to the cliffside villa to complete a business deal that would have created over 900 jobs.
He claimed the others in the party were bodyguards, a secretary and translators.
The businessman would not give any further details but said the trip had been booked days in advance with airport authorities and blamed the French authorities for being 'stupid'.
He said:' The problem was the stupid ignorance in the time of Covid 19.
'This was not a holiday in France but a big a project and investment in France. But now and for the future it has stopped.'
The businessman claimed the failure of the project would mean 994 jobs would not be created.
Police said the seven men who had flown from Farnborough airfield in Hampshire were in their 40s and 50s.
They described the women, aged in their 20s, as escorts and have not released their names.
Three helicopters that had been booked to fly the group to the property were not allowed to take off.
The pilots were fined on the spot by police for breaking the lockdown rules imposed by the French Government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
As the group from the UK had not technically step foot on French soil they were not fined.
Police said one of the super rich men hired a private jet at the airport and flew to Germany.
The others, led by a wealthy Croatian who lives in London and had paid for the entire trip, flew back to the UK.
Others on the flight were German, French, Romanian and Ukranian, according to police.
The party were headed to the most luxurious villa in the South of France called 'Alang, Alang.'
It was valued at over £50m a year ago when it was put up for sale and during peak season is rented out for £360,000 a month.
As well as eight bedrooms it features its own cinema room and multiple terraces with sweeping views of the Mediterranean.
There is also a private beach, spa, steam room and an indoor and outdoor pool.
A private nightclub is on the ground floor and the home includes a gym and fitness room.(FA)