Two men accused of stealing $100 million worth of France’s Crown Jewels during a bold daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum have been arrested, including one suspect caught while attempting to flee the country. According to Le Parisien, one of the suspects, who has not been identified, was apprehended Saturday night at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport as he prepared to board a flight bound for Algeria.
The second suspect was arrested shortly afterward in Paris. Both men, in their 30s and from Seine-Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, are known to police for previous robberies. Authorities believe the group carried out the high-profile heist “on commission” for an unknown buyer.
Two additional suspects remain at large. Police continue to search for the missing jewelry, which includes priceless royal pieces linked to 19th-century French queens and empresses. The heist took place last week when a four-man crew, disguised in yellow vests and motorcycle helmets, used a cherry picker to scale the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery.
Armed with chainsaws, they smashed glass display cases in front of stunned museum visitors and made off with eight pieces of jewelry — including a sapphire diadem, necklace, and single earring once belonging to Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, as per BFMTV reported.
They also stole Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her elaborate corsage-bow brooch, both considered masterpieces of 19th-century craftsmanship. Eugénie’s emerald-studded imperial crown, set with over 1,300 diamonds, was later discovered outside the museum, damaged but recoverable, according to Spanish outlet El País.
The entire operation took less than four minutes. The thieves escaped the same way they entered, descending in the cherry picker before torching it and fleeing on two scooters. Investigators have collected over 150 pieces of evidence, including fingerprints, DNA, and hair found in a discarded motorcycle helmet and vest near the scene.
Affaire du #Louvre: j’adresse mes plus vives félicitations aux enquêteurs qui ont travaillé sans relâche comme je le leur ai demandé et qui ont toujours eu toute ma confiance. Les investigations doivent se poursuivre en respectant le secret de l'enquête sous l'autorité de la…
— Laurent Nuñez (@NunezLaurent) October 26, 2025
The suspects are being held at police headquarters, where they can be detained for up to 96 hours without charges. In response to the cinematic theft, security has been tightened across France’s major cultural institutions. The stolen Crown Jewels have since been relocated to an ultra-secure Bank of France vault.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised the arrests, writing on X, “I extend my warmest congratulations to the investigators who have worked tirelessly… The investigations must continue… It will be with the same determination!! We keep going!!” Meanwhile, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau criticized media leaks about the arrests, warning they could “hinder the investigative efforts of the 100 or so mobilised investigators.”
