Romance Scam Story - $15000.0 Lost

I’m posting this because I’m almost certain this is a scam, but the way it happened was interesting, so I’m sharing it in case it helps someone else avoid the same situation. I live in Paris and I met a guy online who lives in Lebanon. We talked for a few weeks and the conversation moved quite quickly. He said he wanted to come see me next week, that he really liked me, and that he was genuinely interested in pursuing a relationship with me. From what I could see online and on videocalls, he looked very successful (owns his own business, nice lifestyle, etc.), so nothing immediately felt suspicious. At some point he started insisting that he wanted to buy me a watch as a gift to “prove his good faith” and show that he wasn’t wasting my time. I told him several times that it really wasn’t necessary, especially since we hadn’t even met in person yet. He kept insisting and said it was normal, and that since I already wear nice jewellery and have a nice stack on my wrist, I “should be wearing a fancy watch”. The watch in question is around €15,000. He said I should buy it here in Paris this way I can wear it immediately and that he would send me the money first via Western Union. I suggested a bank transfer instead because it would obviously be safer, but he told me that because of the financial situation in Lebanon since 2019 he can’t do international bank transfers. I also told him that sending that much money through Western Union in France is heavily regulated and complicated, and that he can buy it online and just send it to my address. And I’d declare it for taxes etc. He said his card doesn’t work online and that cash is king. He then said he would send the money in two transfers of €7,500. He also told me he was “blocked” on Western Union as he regularly does big transfers and that I needed to send him transfer fees first in order to unblock the money he had supposedly already sent to me. He gave me an MTCN. I entered on the application app and it said « We can't find that transfer. Re-enter the info. (C1620) ». I’m aware of advance-fee scams, but what really threw me off is that this is someone who appears to be well-off and successful, which made the situation feel somehow believable at first. I’m posting this mainly to ask if anyone has seen a similar version of this scam and also to warn others because it didn’t feel like a typical scam at the beginning. 👀