French Police Arrest a 22-Year-Old British Man For Trying To Marry A 9-Year-Old

French police have arrested a 22-year-old man thought to be British amid claims he attempted to marry a nine-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris on Saturday.

When the youngster, her family, and around 100 other people showed up for the occasion, park personnel were taken aback and promptly phoned the police.

Officers arrived on the scene and took the man into custody along with the girl’s 41-year-old mother, who is believed to be Ukrainian.

A statement issued by the prosecutor’s office in the nearby town of Meaux said: ‘Four people were arrested and questioned: the groom, who was believed to be the organiser of the event and is presumed to be British and aged 22; the mother of the child, a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman; and two Latvian nationals aged 55 and 24.’

It added that the ‘police custody of the British suspect and a Latvian national was also extended on charges of fraud and money laundering.’ 

The opening of a criminal probe was also confirmed by the prosecutor’s office.

The wedding ceremony was scheduled at dawn as private events such as weddings at the theme park are organised outside public opening hours.

Disneyland Paris told French newspaper Le Parisien that the event was immediately shut down by its team and that guests were stopped from entering the premises. 

Although the circumstances surrounding the wedding are still unknown, the prosecutor’s office reported that the little girl had not experienced any violence, according to a medical check.

They also said that they were not ruling out that the event may have been a prank, with the guests attending as possible ‘extras’.

A police source later told Le Parisien that the groom had said that he was the director of a production company and that they were shooting a video.

A source who claimed to have been a wedding guest told the French newspaper: ‘We all thought we were going to attend a wedding… Everyone was stunned, no one expected it. Disneyland did things very well.

‘They cancelled everything as soon as they realized the bride was a child. We were shocked to see that.’

‘So it wasn’t a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They privatized Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding,’ the prosecutor’s office later explained to AFP.

Even if it was a staged marriage for a film, why have they not published the name of the filming company?

To shoot in Disneyland Paris for business or professional purposes, you must get authorisation and make advance plans. It is prohibited to take pictures, record videos, broadcast, or transmit them for profit without permission.

The park does not permit selfie sticks or other similar devices.

Professional cameras or recording equipment used for business purposes need approval, even though personal cameras are usually accepted.

How was this even allowed to get through security without being detected?

If the wedding had been to make a commercial video, the man and his team would have had an official licence to film at Disneyland Paris.

This just doesn’t make any sense. Hundreds of extras were invited to a pretend wedding, and it might have been a prank – were Disneyland not aware of this? And then it was cancelled when it came to light.

In France, a legally binding ceremony (civil ceremony) must take place at the local town hall called the ‘Mairie’, and be officiated by the mayor or a deputy. After the civil ceremony, couples can have symbolic or religious ceremonies at other venues if they choose, so even if they had got married, it would not have been legal unless they got married at the ‘Mairie’ first.