French authorities have arrested two men in connection with the daring $102 million jewellery heist that stunned the Louvre Museum last week, the Paris prosecutor confirmed on Sunday.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the arrests took place on Saturday evening, one of them at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport as the suspect was preparing to board a flight to Algeria. The other man, detained shortly after in the Paris region, was also linked to the case. Both suspects, reportedly in their 30s and from Seine-Saint-Denis, were already known to French police.
According to reports, the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation led by the police antigang brigade. The men are being held on suspicion of organised theft and criminal conspiracy. Beccuau declined to disclose the number of individuals detained, citing the sensitivity of the case, and criticised the premature leaks of information, warning that such disclosures could “compromise efforts to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all involved.”
The theft — executed in just four minutes — occurred on October 19, when a group of masked intruders stormed a restricted gallery of the Louvre in broad daylight, escaping with eight pieces of priceless jewellery. The museum was forced to close its doors, leaving both Parisians and global art lovers in shock.
Investigators have been combing through hours of public and private surveillance footage and have reportedly identified multiple DNA samples and fingerprints from the scene. The operation to track the culprits extended beyond Paris, with leads emerging in nearby regions.
The jewels, estimated at $102 million in value, are considered irreplaceable due to their cultural and historical importa
nce. The Louvre’s director has since described the theft as a “terrible failure,” prompting France’s Ministry of Culture to initiate a review of security protocols across national museums.
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The audacity of the heist has reignited debate in France about how secure its cultural institutions truly are. Within a day of the Louvre robbery, another museum in eastern France reported the theft of rare gold and silver coins. Only weeks earlier, burglars broke into Paris’s Natural History Museum and escaped with gold nuggets worth over $1.5 million.
Authorities say the arrests mark a significant step forward—but the hunt for the missing jewels continues.