According to the responsible public prosecutor’s office, initial fears of an illegal child marriage were not confirmed. Investigations revealed that this was not an actual wedding but a deliberately staged scene involving numerous hired performers. The girl’s mother reportedly stated that the purpose of the event was to make her daughter feel like a Disney princess for a day.
The organizer of the event, which had been disguised as a wedding celebration, was identified as a 22-year-old British citizen. He was taken into temporary custody along with a 24-year-old woman from Latvia for questioning. French media reported that both are under investigation for suspected fraud and possible money laundering.
Two other individuals—a 41-year-old woman from Ukraine and a 55-year-old man from Latvia, believed to be the child’s parents—were also questioned but later released.
Fake Documents and a Six-Figure Venue Rental Fee
According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, the event space at Disneyland Paris had been booked several weeks earlier for approximately €130,000. The booking was made under the pretense of a legitimate wedding. Investigators determined that falsified identification documents had been used during the rental process. A medical examination of the nine-year-old Ukrainian girl found no evidence of coercion or abuse. However, the police investigation remains ongoing.
Disneyland Paris confirmed to the radio station France Inter that the event was immediately halted once inconsistencies were detected and that law enforcement was informed without delay. The park has since filed a criminal complaint and is actively supporting the ongoing investigation.
The full motives behind this staged wedding remain unclear. Le Parisien reported that the extras were transported to the venue by bus. One of the performers said she had initially assumed it was a typical wedding ceremony until she noticed that the “bride” was a young girl being carried in the arms of a woman, which made the child’s age apparent.
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