Russians stay away from French Riviera

PRIVATE chef Selim M’nasri used to cook for wealthy Russians on the French Riviera, but he says it has been “radio silence” from them since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Covid-19 and now Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war have kept rich Russians away from the French Riviera, one of their favourite foreign destinations.

The pandemic caused an 80% drop in the number of Russian tourists, said Francois de Canson, the head of the local tourism committee.

After Paris, it is the second most popular French destination for Russians. And it is a historic hot spot, too – Russian visitors have stayed here in “villas since the 19th century”, de Canson said. |