French police were on Monday holding two men for breaking into a villa owned by the former son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin in protest at the invasion of Ukraine, prosecutors said.
One of the men who broke into the luxury seaside residence in the southwestern resort of Biarritz was a French activist called Pierre Haffner. The other described himself as an opponent of the Putin government.
They are under investigation for intruding into a private home, the Alta Mira villa belonging to Kirill Shamalov, during "the past 48 hours", a source close to the case told AFP.
Businessman Shamalov is described by international media as Putin's former son-in-law. He was married to the Russian leader's younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova.
A video Haffner posted on Youtube showed one of the two anti-Putin activists strolling through the vast late 19th-century home, built on a cliffside with sweeping views of the Atlantic.
"This house was bought with money stolen by Putin, by his mafia, from the Russian people and the peoples oppressed by Putin's Russia," the man said.
Another video on the streaming platform showed the second man waving a Ukrainian flag from one of the villa's balconies.
A subtitle read, "The house of the people is ready to host refugees from the Putin regime."
A property in the neighbouring town of Anglet belonging to a company owned by Putin's ex-wife Lyudmila and her husband, businessman Artur Ocheretny, was graffitied by unknown individuals in late February after Russian launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Insults to Putin were repeatedly sprayed in blue paint on the walls and gates of the seafront Art Deco-style "Villa Suzanna".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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