Two suspects arrested over Louvre museum jewelry heist
French authorities have made arrests in connection with the robbery at the Louvre museum last week, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, adding that one of the suspects was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to leave the country.
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Paris prosecutors announced Sunday that investigators from a special police unit have arrested suspects connected to last week’s daring theft of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum, one of the world’s most visited cultural landmarks.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the arrests took place Saturday evening, noting that one of the men apprehended had been preparing to leave the country from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. French media outlets BFM TV and Le Parisien earlier reported that two suspects were in custody, though Beccuau did not confirm the exact number.
The suspects were detained by a unit specializing in armed robberies and art thefts. Beccuau warned that leaks to the press about the arrests could hinder the work of more than 100 investigators “mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.”
According to Le Parisien, the two suspects are men in their 30s from Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris known for its socioeconomic challenges, and both were already known to French police.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised the investigators, saying they had “worked tirelessly, just as I asked, and have always had my full confidence.”
Quick and Daring Heist
The thieves completed the audacious robbery in under eight minutes. Investigators say they used a basket lift to scale the museum’s façade on the morning of October 19, forced open a window, smashed two display cases, and escaped on motorbikes. Alarms sounded and visitors were evacuated, but the thieves were gone by 9:30 a.m., taking several of France’s most treasured crown jewels. The theft has been compared to the cultural loss felt during the 2019 Notre-Dame Cathedral fire.
Art crimes detective Arthur Brand, speaking from Amsterdam, said the thieves were clearly experienced. “French police did an amazing job tracking down two of the suspects in just one week,” he said, adding that the jewels are likely still intact and remain in France.
Stolen Treasures
A total of eight historic pieces were stolen, including a sapphire diadem, a necklace, and a single earring linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. The thieves also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and large corsage-bow brooch were also among the items taken.
One of the pieces—Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds—was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.
The Louvre reopened to full visitor capacity on Wednesday, though the crown jewels remain missing.
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