French police have arrested two suspects in connection with last week’s audacious robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where thieves made off with crown jewels valued at €88 million in a daylight operation that has shocked France and the art world.
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the arrests on Sunday, revealing that one of the suspects was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria.
The other was apprehended in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. Both men, aged in their thirties and known to authorities, were tracked down through DNA traces left at the crime scene.
Authorities say at least two more accomplices remain at large as the international manhunt continues. The investigation, which involves over 100 officers, has been described as one of France’s most intensive museum theft probes in decades.
The robbers struck the Apollo Gallery—home to the French Crown Jewels—on October 19 in a meticulously planned seven-minute raid. Using a truck-mounted ladder, the thieves accessed the gallery through an upper-level window overlooking the Seine.
Once inside, they shattered two reinforced glass display cases and made off with nine priceless jewels, including a diamond and sapphire tiara once worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and a matching necklace belonging to Queen Hortense.
ALSO READ: Police busts robbery ring, recovers stolen items
Louvre director Laurence des Cars called the theft a “terrible failure,” admitting that the museum’s security systems had not anticipated such a direct and rapid attack.
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin also acknowledged “clear lapses,” including unsecured windows and easy street access for the thieves’ equipment.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez congratulated police investigators for their quick progress, saying their relentless efforts had “restored public confidence” in the wake of what he called “a national humiliation.”
Despite the arrests, prosecutors have yet to confirm whether any of the stolen jewels have been recovered.
French media reports suggest that investigators are racing to trace the missing artifacts, fearing they could be broken down or sold through underground networks.
The heist has reignited debate about museum security across Europe, especially for institutions housing cultural treasures of high symbolic value.
For now, as authorities tighten surveillance and forensic teams comb for leads, the mystery of France’s missing crown jewels continues to unfold—one arrest at a time.
CNN
