Paris prosecutors confirmed Thursday that five additional people have been arrested as part of the investigation into the audacious theft of crown jewels from the Louvre on 19 October. The arrests — carried out in coordinated raids across Paris and its suburbs, including Seine-Saint-Denis — bring the total number of people detained in the case to at least seven, authorities said. Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau told RTL radio that one of the newly arrested men is suspected after DNA found at the scene linked him to the robbery.
Investigators say the robbery was carried out in broad daylight by a small team who entered the museum posing as maintenance workers, used a stolen lift truck to reach the Galerie d’Apollon, smashed a window and cut display cases, making off with eight historic pieces in a matter of minutes. The loot — various royal pieces that include a necklace gifted by Napoleon I and a diadem associated with Empress Eugénie — is estimated at roughly €88 million (about $100–102 million), though officials warn the items are hard to sell and may have been altered to avoid detection.
Two men from the Paris region had already been arrested last week; prosecutors said one was intercepted at Charles-de-Gaulle airport as he tried to leave the country and that both have “partially admitted” involvement. Those earlier detainees have been targeted with charges including organised gang theft and criminal conspiracy, while investigators continue forensic work at the scene and across leads developed during the probe. Authorities say searches and questioning are ongoing as they try to establish whether the theft was the work of a small cell or part of a wider criminal network.
So far, none of the eight stolen items have been recovered in full; officials reported that one piece — a crown connected to Empress Eugénie was later found damaged, but the bulk of the collection remains missing. Prosecutors and museum officials have come under scrutiny over security arrangements after the incident, in part because the initial alarm was raised by a passerby rather than the museum’s security systems. Investigators say they are following hundreds of forensic leads and remain “holding on to hope” that the jewels can be located and returned.
The case has captured global attention not only because of the historic and cultural value of the pieces but also for its brazen execution in one of the world’s most-visited museums. As the probe widens with these new arrests, prosecutors have urged anyone with information to come forward and warned that the unique, historic nature of the jewels makes them difficult to re-market — a fact they hope will persuade those involved to lead investigators to the missing treasures.
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