Inside the billionaires' compound on the French Riviera that set up its own private testing center while the rest of the country struggles to obtain coronavirus tests

Saint-Tropez is known for being a playground for the rich and famous.Boris Stroujko / Shutterstock

• Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez is a gated neighborhood in Saint-Tropez where numerous billionaires — among them Bernard Arnault, the third-richest person in the world — own villas.
• On April 13, local newspaper Var-Martin reported that the president of the neighborhood, Jean-Louis Oger, had set up a private testing site for its residents, causing uproar in the local community.
• Oger said the community was only conducting antibody testing on those who had already had the virus.
• The reports have ignited a wave of anger towards Les Parc residents who were given private testing and preferential treatment at a time when most of France — and the world — struggles to obtain tests.
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The seaside town of Saint-Tropez has for decades been known as a summer vacation hotspot for celebs and the "see and be seen" crowd. Its beaches have been ranked as the best in France, and the area is so popular with the wealthy that it's been dubbed "billionaires' harbor."

Within Saint-Tropez lies the wealthy, 180-home gated community of Les Parc de Saint-Tropez, which is currently under scrutiny for the preferential treatment its wealthy residents have been receiving in the age of the coronavirus.

The average home value in the community, as reported by The Telegraph's Henry Samuel, is about $13 million. Among the global elite who own homes in the compound are LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, who is the third-richest man in the world, and Mohamed al-Fayed, the owner of the Ritz Paris.

On April 13, local newspaper Var-Matin reported that the enclave's residents had gained access to a private testing site in the compound. According to the report, the president of the gated neighborhood, Jean-Louis Oger, had set up the testing site for residents and their friends.

As Samuel reported for The Telegraph, Oger said that the labs in the community were only conducting blood tests and that they were only being conducted on people who had already had the virus in order to track their immunity levels.

"We have not done any nasal tests, which is how one determines if a patient is sick," Oger said, according to the Washington Post, though the publication also reported that residents in neighboring communities had heard otherwise.

After the reports emerged, Saint-Tropez residents slammed the billionaires' enclave for access to testing at a time when French medical systems — including the city's local hospital — are overwhelmed by the influx of coronavirus patients and testing is almost nowhere to be found.

As of April 21, France has nearly 160,000 cases of the coronavirus, with over 20,700 reported deaths. The region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, where St. Tropez is located, has reported 13,000 positive cases of the virus.

Keep reading to learn more about Saint-Tropez and the scandal that is taking over the local news.