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French police have arrested two suspects in connection with the daylight theft of crown jewels worth €88 million ($102 million) from the Louvre museum, officials said.
One man was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Algeria, while another was reportedly planning to travel to Mali, police sources said. The arrests came nearly a week after four masked thieves used power tools to break into the museum’s Galerie d’Apollon on Sunday morning and steal priceless royal artifacts, including pieces once owned by Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
Prosecutors said the suspects can be held for up to 96 hours for questioning. DNA evidence found at the scene reportedly led investigators to one of the men.
The thieves entered the museum around 9:30 a.m., using a mechanical lift to reach a first-floor balcony overlooking the Seine. After cutting through a window, they threatened security guards and smashed two display cases before escaping on scooters less than 10 minutes later.
An initial investigation revealed significant security lapses: one in three rooms in the raided area lacked CCTV coverage, and the only exterior camera near the entry point was facing the wrong direction. Louvre director Laurence des Cars told lawmakers that perimeter cameras were “weak and aging.”
Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti acknowledged that security systems “failed,” calling the incident a “terrible image” for France. Authorities have since increased protection at cultural institutions nationwide.
Experts warn that the stolen jewels may already have been dismantled or melted down, making recovery difficult. The Louvre has since moved its most valuable gems to a secure vault 26 meters underground at the Bank of France.
With information from BBC.
