A man believed to be British has been arrested in France after allegedly staging a mock wedding with a nine-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris.
The theme park was booked out at a cost of €130,000 (£110,000) for several hours before regular opening time on Saturday.
Local media reports suggest the suspect, who is 22, told managers he was an Irishman living in Germany who wanted to have his wedding at the site.
The event initially went ahead as planned but staff called police after realising the so-called bride, who was wearing a wedding dress, was clearly a child.
Appearing ‘scared and confused’, she was wearing five-inch stilettos taped to her feet, which left her unable to walk on her own, according to local newspaper Le Parisien.
Local prosecutors said it turned out the guests ‘were all actors’ and that the event was being filmed, with ‘around 100 extras’ hired for the stunt.’
The girl, who is Ukrainian, was accompanied by her 41-year-old mother, who was also arrested along with a 54-year-old Latvian man pretending to be the child’s father.
The mother reportedly told detectives the ‘wedding’ had been organised so her daughter could ‘live like a princess’ for a day, which would be immortalised in film footage and photos.
She insisted the so-called ‘groom’ was just a friend of hers.
The Brit, who police reportedly believe organised the stunt, said under questioning that he was a director of a film company who’d hired the location for a shoot.
Police also arrested a 24-year-old Latvian woman who appeared to be acting as the ‘wedding planner’, though they said they believe the British suspect organised the stunt.
Local prosecutors say medical checks were carried out to confirm that the girl had not suffered any violence or physical restraint.
Her mother and fake ‘father’ have been released from custody.
But the ‘groom’ and ‘wedding planner’ have had their detention extended ‘on charges of fraud and money laundering’, Le Parisien added.
Disneyland Paris told French radio station France Inter: ‘A private event booked at our destination was immediately cancelled by our staff after irregularities were identified. Police were called and arrived quickly.’
The company said it was cooperating with authorities and had filed its own legal complaint.
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