French Police Arrest Suspects in $100 Million Louvre Crown Jewel Heist
French authorities announced Sunday that multiple suspects have been arrested in connection with the daring theft of crown jewels worth more than $100 million from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The arrests come just a week after thieves executed one of the most brazen heists in modern French history, raising questions about the security of the world’s most visited museum.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed that arrests were made on Saturday evening, including one suspect who was detained at Charles de Gaulle airport as he attempted to leave the country.
he declined to provide exact numbers or confirm whether the priceless jewels had been recovered. French outlets BFM TV and Le Parisien reported that at least two individuals were taken into custody.
The theft, which occurred on October 19, shocked both France and the international art world.
In less than eight minutes, a skilled crew scaled the façade of the Louvre using a basket lift, forced open a window, smashed display cases, and escaped with jewels tied to European royalty.
The stolen items, estimated at 88 million euros ($102 million), included a sapphire diadem, a necklace, and an earring linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, as well as an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife.
Also missing were Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her diamond-and-emerald corsage bow brooch.
One of the most famous pieces—Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown containing more than 1,300 diamonds—was later found abandoned near the museum, damaged but recoverable.
