In the footsteps of the Poutine clan in Biarritz

William Molinié, edited by Solène Delinger 06:24, February 24, 2022

REPORT

This house on the Côte des Basques, in Biarritz, at first glance, has nothing exceptional about it.

It is still estimated at nearly two million euros by real estate experts in the region.

What is especially worth the detour is that the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky resided there at the beginning of the last century.

Today, French is spoken there with a strong Russian accent.

"I don't have time to chat, but yes I work here," says a woman in her fifties. 

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She opens the gate and cuts our conversation short.

She claims to be the housekeeper, but oddly, she does not know the owners.

However, in the region, it is an open secret.

People close to Vladimir Putin are regularly seen there. 

A superb art deco villa 

Pierre Haffner, an associative activist, documents it on the internet.

"They are there every summer, in August. There is also Putin's villa here. But we won't tell you more. And if you find it, you will have to look for it," he replies.

Exactly, towards the ocean.

Facing the waves, the villa Susanna, that of Vladimir Putin's former wife, overlooks the dune.

Impossible to miss this art deco house from the 1930s.

Inside, great luxury, as told by this contractor who worked on the renovation site.

"The interior is spacious, it's very, very big. There's a big garden, a big swimming pool, an Olympic swimming pool. There aren't many houses like that. It's a rare commodity. because it is by the beach", he describes at the microphone of Europe 1. Between fantasy and reality, does the imperial city shelter the hidden fortune of Vladimir Putin?

Pure legend, disputes the honorary consul of Russia in Biarritz, Alexandre de La Cerda.

A former FSB spotted in Biarritz

"We talk all the time about the houses of what you call the Putin clan, but I have never seen them", he confides on Europe 1. "The Russian head of state has never bought a house on the spot. And yes, a certain number of Russians have properties on the Basque coast, as they have on the Côte d'Azur."

We meet in a secret location a Russian activist who is also interested in the heritage of the Putin clan in the region.

He is now a political refugee in France, under police protection.

"I am in a situation of risk of lethal death because now I am like enemy number two or number three of Putin", he tells Europe 1. "There are a lot of secret agents in Europe now and I need the help of the police for my protection and that of my family."

A former member of the FSB, Russian internal intelligence, and even of the powerful GRU, the equivalent of military intelligence, was seen this summer on the beaches of Biarritz.

According to our information, the DGSI regularly conducts counterintelligence surveillance activities in the imperial city.