CNN

Suspects arrested over brazen jewel theft from Paris’ Louvre museum

By CNN

Published October 26, 2025 8:30 am

CNN

By Camille Knight, Billy Stockwell, CNN

(CNN) — Police have arrested suspects in connection with the theft of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre museum, just as one attempted to leave the country, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

Thieves last week targeted the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery in a brazen daylight raid, fleeing with jewelry worth tens of millions in a matter of minutes.

Scores of investigators have been involved in chasing down those suspected of the heist, which Louvre director Laurence des Cars called a “terrible failure.” Last week, des Cars admitted to the French Senate that no security cameras were monitoring the gallery’s second-floor balcony when the thieves broke in using an angle grinder.

French media first broke the news of the arrests, with CNN affiliate BFMTV reporting that two men in their thirties and known to police were detained on Saturday evening local time.

Authorities were able to track down the individuals after analyzing more than 150 samples of DNA left at the scene, BFMTV reported. Both men are from the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers, where one of them was arrested, it added, while two others suspected of being involved in the heist remain at large.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that “one of the men arrested was preparing to leave the territory from Roissy airport,” also known as Charles de Gaulle airport, near Paris. BFMTV reported, citing sources, that he was arrested during a passport check before he could board an evening flight to Algeria.

The stolen jewels – comprising nine items including an emerald necklace set among more than 1,000 diamonds gifted by Napoleon to his second wife – were not recovered when the two arrests were made, BFMTV said.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez congratulated the investigators for the arrests, who he said “have worked tirelessly, as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”

Thieves raided the Apollo Gallery on the Louvre’s upper floor last weekend, which houses the French Crown Jewels. They used a truck-mounted ladder to gain access to the gallery, one of the most ornate rooms in the museum, through a window.

In the course of a seven-minute heist, they broke into two high-security display cases and stole nine items, according to France’s culture ministry. Among the items taken was a diamond and sapphire jewelry set including a tiara and necklace worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense.

The jewelry taken from the museum is estimated to be worth 88 million euros ($102 million), Beccuau previously told French radio station RTL. Around 100 investigators have been involved in the manhunt to track down those responsible for the heist, she said.

Following the daylight robbery, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted that the heist exposed security failings at France’s most famous museum.

“One can wonder about the fact that, for example, the windows hadn’t been secured, about the fact that a basket lift was on a public road,” he said on France Inter radio. “What is certain is that we have failed.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Martin Goillandeau and Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.