The French police arrest two suspected Louvre thieves: one was trying to fly to Algeria and the other was arrested in Seine-Saint-Denis
The French police have arrested two men suspected of being responsible for the spectacular theft that took place last weekend at the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris, according to sources close to the investigation cited by Le Figaro and BFM TV. The robbery, which has shocked both the French public and the art world, involved the disappearance of priceless historical jewels once belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Josephine.
According to the reports, one of the two suspects was apprehended at around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday night by officers from the border police and the anti-theft brigade at Roissy–Charles de Gaulle Airport. The man was preparing to board a plane bound for Algeria when the authorities intervened and placed him under arrest. His capture was the result of intense surveillance operations launched immediately after the theft was discovered.
The second suspect was detained a few hours later by the Paris judicial police in the northern suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, an area often monitored for criminal activity related to stolen goods. Both individuals are currently being interrogated as investigators attempt to determine their exact roles in the operation and whether other accomplices were involved.
So far, the police have not yet managed to recover the stolen items: a collection of jewels belonging to Napoleon and Empress Josephine, valued at approximately 88 million euros. The thieves reportedly entered the museum in broad daylight last Sunday, using a freight elevator to access one of the windows of the Apollo Gallery — one of the Louvre’s most emblematic and historically significant rooms.
The daring nature of the heist, combined with the enormous cultural and financial value of the missing treasures, has raised serious questions about museum security and the methods employed by the thieves. Investigators continue to pursue leads both in France and abroad, hoping to locate the stolen jewels before they disappear into the international black market for art and antiquities.
