Swimming aimlessly around an abandoned marine park, these majestic orcas appear to be at the centre of a bureaucratic row between French officials and a major theme park company.
France's last two captive killer whales are stranded in the algae-infested Marineland, near Cannes, neglected with the exception of a skeleton staff that comes in intermittently to feed them.
In a nearby smaller tank, 12 stranded bottlenose dolphins are the only other occupants of the park.
But their fate is uncertain - with the French government telling MailOnline that it could be a year before they are relocated at the earliest.
The marine park closed on January 5, citing legislation banning shows featuring cetaceans such as dolphins and whales, which the French government passed in 2021.
