Since the early 1990’s, the Russian community on the French Riviera has been varied — from uber-wealthy Russian oligarchs and their associates, to new-money Russians who’ve earned money legitimately, to middle-class Russians, to a large criminal / mafia contingent.
The 2022 war sanctions and travel restrictions on Russians drove away many of the oligarchs and new-money Russians along with many Russian tourists, most of whom are now trapped in Russia. The Russians who are able to leave Russia are still unable to fly to Europe, so most have gone to Dubai or Istanbul. The Russian superyachts that can usually be spotted gliding across the French Riviera’s sparkling blue waters are nowhere to be seen.
The French Riviera is home to 20,000 Russians — a quarter of France’s 80,000-strong Russian resident population. Monaco has 750 Russian residents (not including those who grew up in Russia but have since traded their Russian passport for those of other countries, like Cyprus — as most have). And yet, in 2017, a banker from Nice was asked how many ultra-rich Russians there are on the French Riviera — he estimated 20,000. Clearly, this is an over-estimation, but it demonstrates the larger-than-life reputation that the wealthiest Russians have created on the French Riviera. He said: “They bring their [dirty] money from Russia through Cyprus into the Riviera. They’ve kept the [real estate] market moving for 10 years.”
