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
Dominic-Madori Davis
- 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.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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.
Read the original article on Business InsiderThe story also closely echoes that of America's richest ZIP code, Fisher Island.
In March, the wealthy community off the coast of Miami purchased 1,800 coronavirus antibody tests — enough for every resident and staff member — for $30,000 while the rest of the US struggles to obtain any tests at all.
The first people on the island were tested on April 6. Residents told Business Insider that the system was extremely well set-up and involved nothing more than a finger prick.
In the days after the Fisher Island story broke, outrage spread across social media. People took to Twitter to compare the situation to a dystopian movie and to slam the island's purchase as a shameful example of disparity in the time of global crisis.
Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez is the latest wealthy enclave to come under fire for the preferential treatment its wealthy residents have been receiving in the age of coronavirus.
Business Insider previously reported that people in the UK have been sneaking out of big cities and into the countrysides, while wealthy people in the US are heading toward areas such as the Hamptons, Nantucket, and Cape Cod, causing food supply shortages and irritating locals.
Many celebrities have also come under fire for being able to access tests before the general public. The New York Times published an article on March 18 with the headline that read "Need a Coronavirus Test? Being Rich and Famous May Help." The article documented the celebrities, politicians, and athletes who had able to find coronavirus tests as the US faced its own testing shortage. The report noted that many of these celebs refused to explain how they got access to the tests.
Residents in the local Saint-Tropez area were infuriated to find out about the secret testing site, and expressed their discontent in interviews with Var-Matin.
"So much for solidarity," one local told the Var-Matin.
Source: The Telegraph
Paris' Pasteur Institute, which is developing France's authorized tests, said it doesn't recommend "doing wild studies" and found the mayor's statements to be "suspect."
"We don't recommend doing wild studies," the institute told 20 Minutes, according to The Telegraph. "They should be done using reference test results. We work with the (blood) plasma of patients collected within the legal framework of clinical trials and with plasma that has been verified."
Saint-Tropez Mayor Jean-Pierre Tuveri also weighed in, backing Oger and calling the scandal "as unfounded as it is useless."
Tuveri furthered Oger's claim that the neighborhood was conducting "experimental" tests on volunteers. He clarified that, because the tests were not authorized by French health authorities, they could not be extended to hospitals outside of the compound.
According to the Post, when told that the Saint-Tropez hospital had no coronavirus tests, the president of the neighborhood, Jean-Louis Oger, replied, "That's not my concern."
Oger went on to say that if the trial proves successful, he will give the tests to locals after France's lockdown ends on May 11.
The news comes at a time when French medical systems are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.
As of April 21, there were nearly 160,000 coronavirus cases and more than 20,700 reported deaths in France. In the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, where Saint-Tropez is located, there are nearly 13,000 reported cases of the virus.
According to the Washington Post, Saint-Tropez's local hospital, Pôle de Santé du Golfe de Saint-Tropez, has been overwhelmed with patients. "It's not normal that we have nothing — no tests — and that it is a nightmare for us to get ahold of one," a doctor told the Post.
But on April 13, Saint-Tropez entered the news scene for a different reason altogether when local newspaper Var-Matin reported that Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez was home to a private testing site for its wealthy residents.
According to the Var-Matin report, a doctor and a lab technician were administering tests to residents and residents' friends in the compound's medical unit. The report indicated that the tests had been arranged by Jean-Louis Oger, the president of the neighborhood.
On April 20, The Washington Post reported that Oger said the tests were blood tests for a clinical trial that would assess immunity in people who had already been infected. They were not, Oger said, nasal coronavirus tests, but the Post report noted that residents claimed to have heard otherwise. It remains unknown whether or not the community has had any confirmed coronavirus cases.
On April 21, local authorities launched a probe into how the billionaire enclave was able to access tests while surrounding areas are still struggling to obtain any.
The town has gained international renown as a playground for the rich and famous. Billionaire David Geffen is known to love Saint-Tropez — and he's not the only one.
Geffen was caught in his own coronavirus controversy when the billionaire shared an Instagram photo of himself social distancing on his $590 million yacht in the Grenadines. The photo received fierce backlash and prompted him to delete his Instagram account.
And as Vogue reported in 2017, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, and Ivanka Trump are just a handful of the celebrities who have been spotted vacationing in Saint-Tropez in recent years.
According to The Telegraph, Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez was founded in 1951 by a builder named Robert Geffroy.
His yacht had reportedly broken down in the area.
Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez has since become known as a billionaire hub. It spans 270 acres, consists of 180 homes, and boasts an array of wealthy homeowners including Mohamed Fayed, owner of Ritz Paris, and Bernard Arnault, LVMH chairman and the third-richest man in the world.
The Telegraph's Henry Samuel reported that the average price of a home in the community is nearly $13 million.
Among real-estate listings currently available in the gated community are a four-bedroom, $10 million apartment that features a series of ornate towers, and an enormous $12 million villa replete with seven bedrooms, a pool house, and a hammam.
The history of Saint-Tropez dates back centuries, but it started to be recognized as a jet-set destination after World War II.
After the war, artists from the French New Wave Movement began coming to Saint-Tropez, and the town became a backdrop for many famous French films, including Brigitte Bardot's 1956 film "And God Created Woman."
Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez is a gated compound located in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, in the south of France.
Saint-Tropez is a popular seaside vacation spot on the Mediterranean that sees a massive spike in tourism in summer months.
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