French authorities have arrested several suspects after a frantic manhunt for the men who staged a spectacular daytime heist at the Louvre museum that gripped the world and embarrassed the government in Paris.
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the arrests on Sunday morning, adding that one of the suspects had been preparing to flee France from Roissy airport. Le Parisien earlier reported two men were arrested and said the other person was located northeast of Paris.
A manhunt was launched after four people broke into the Louvre in broad daylight last Sunday and stole eight pieces of jewelry, including royal necklaces, tiaras and earrings. The brazen heist took just seven minutes, sparking recriminations and renewed scrutiny into the world-renowned museum’s security arrangements.
The two men, already known for burglaries, appear to be experienced criminals in their thirties, from the Seine-Saint-Denis department and may have been acting on orders, Le Parisien reported. The newspaper said that one of the two men was planning to leave the country to Algeria, triggering the arrests.
Le Monde reported that the suspect is French-Algerian, and that the police had been tracking the two men for some time to try and locate the other suspects and the jewels. It’s unclear whether any of the stolen objects have been recovered.
“From experience, I’m worried about the jewels,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in an interview with La Tribune on Sunday, published before the arrests. “Thieves always end up being found. It seems to be a case of organized crime, we’ll see. But unfortunately, the loot is often hidden abroad. I hope that’s not the case, I remain confident,” he added.
At around 9:30 a.m. last Sunday, two perpetrators parked a furniture lift outside the Louvre and set it in motion. The pair, aided by two accomplices, climbed to a first-floor window and broke into the Apollon Gallery, threatened guards and cut their way into two display cases.
Objects valued at an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) were stolen, including a tiara, a sapphire necklace and matching earrings from the collection of Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings belonging to Marie-Louise; a reliquary brooch; and a tiara and large corsage bow of Empress Eugénie. While they fled, the robbers dropped a crown with more than 1,000 diamonds.
More than 150 DNA and fingerprint samples have been collected by the investigators, the Paris public prosecutor said on Thursday, giving hope to shamefaced officials and police that the massive security lapse wouldn’t lead to a permanent loss. The suspects were identified thanks to the DNA traces, Franceinfo radio reported on Sunday.
In a post on X Sunday, Nuñez sent his “warmest congratulations” to the investigators who “worked tirelessly as I asked them to and who always had my full confidence.” Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin last week described the robbery as a failure, acknowledging that the heist gives “a deplorable image of France.”
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Sunday that she regretted the disclosure of the arrests, which “can only hinder the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators mobilized in the search for both the stolen jewelery and the perpetrators.” She added that further details would be given after the custodies end. The suspects can be held in custody for up to 96 hours.
On Wednesday, the Louvre director Laurence des Cars acknowledged during a Senate hearing that the external video-surveillance of the museum was “very insufficient” and the thieves should have been detected sooner, although alarms on the windows and cases sent alerts. She also said she would request the installation of a police station inside the Louvre, which Nuñez opposed.
“The current police station is right next to the Louvre. As soon as the alarm was raised, the police were there within three minutes,” the interior minister said. “It wouldn’t have made any difference. It’s the most heavily patrolled area in Paris.”
