Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Paris

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750651898309hannes-wolf-yk0GcAZXf_o-unsplash.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Eiffel Tower on map of Paris.<em> Hannes Wolf, Unsplash/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>PARIS, France — French police were on Sunday probing the circumstances of a bizarre stunt at Disneyland outside of Paris, with a group of adults suspected of hiring the theme park and paying hundreds of extras to stage a fake marriage for a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/7/15/mickey-mouse-drones-illuminate-paris-sky-setting-world-record-054">Mickey Mouse drones illuminate Paris sky, setting world record</a></div><p>Two people were held for questioning in the case, which initially caused alarm when staff alerted police on Saturday that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage.</p><p>But investigators now believe that the so-called &quot;marriage&quot; was staged, with the girl&#x27;s mother reportedly saying that she wanted her to feel like a Disney &quot;princess&quot; for the day.</p><p>&quot;The event turned out to be a staged event, with the guests themselves extras&quot; invited to be part of the stunt, deputy prosecutor Alexandre Verney said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/expert-child-marriage-ban-violates-islamic-customs">Islamic Studies expert: Law criminalizing child marriage violates Muslim customs</a></div><p>&quot;So it wasn&#x27;t a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They hired Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding,&quot; he told AFP.</p><p>Four people were arrested and taken into custody, and the questioning of two of them -- suspected of fraud and money laundering -- was extended on Saturday evening.</p><p>They are the so-called &quot;groom&quot; who is believed to be behind the event, 22 years old and &quot;presumed to be British&quot;, and a Latvian woman, 24, said a source close to the case.</p><p>However, the other two people detained -- a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman, and a 55-year-old Latvian man -- were released.</p><p>The investigations, including a medical examination of the nine-year-old girl, a Ukrainian national, found that &quot;she had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts,&quot; the prosecutor&#x27;s office said.</p><p>According to the Le Parisien daily, which first reported the incident, a man had several weeks previously hired the Disneyland Paris complex for a sum of 130,000 euros ($150,000) for several hours before it opened to the public.</p><p>Staff were astonished when the nine-year-old appeared wearing high heels on Saturday morning, barely able to stand in the elaborate footwear, and they alerted the authorities, it said.</p><p>The paper said the man who organized the event had submitted false documents concerning his identity and Disneyland filed a complaint.</p><p>Hundreds of extras were bussed in to play the part of the guests, it said, while the girl&#x27;s mother told investigators she wanted to organize a &quot;day worthy of a princess&quot; for her daughter.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M1ZhXa-r_cw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Investigators now believe the so-called "marriage" was staged, with the girl's mother reportedly saying she wanted her to feel like a Disney "princess" for the day.</p>

Investigators now believe the so-called "marriage" was staged, with the girl's mother reportedly saying she wanted her to feel like a Disney "princess" for the day.