Two Arrested in $102m Louvre Jewel Heist as France Confronts Museum Security Failures

Two men have been charged over a daring jewel heist at the Louvre Museum that saw thieves make off with French crown jewels worth €88 million ($102 million) in under eight minutes. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said both suspects have “partially admitted” their roles in the theft and now face charges of organised theft and criminal conspiracy, crimes carrying potential sentences of up to 15 years.

The jewels, stolen on October 19, have not yet been recovered.

“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” Beccuau said. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”

The operation was swift and surgical. Thieves forced open a window, used power tools to slice into display cases, and vanished with eight pieces of France’s royal collection.

One suspect, a 34-year-old Algerian national, was arrested Saturday at Charles de Gaulle Airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria with no return ticket. The second, aged 39, was detained the same night at his home in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. DNA traces linked him directly to one of the shattered glass cases, according to prosecutors.

Despite the arrests, the case has become a political embarrassment for French authorities after police admitted glaring lapses in the Louvre’s security system.

Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure told lawmakers the museum’s surveillance infrastructure was “obsolete,” with some cameras still operating on outdated analog systems.

“A technological step has not been taken,” he said, adding that the Louvre’s security camera authorisation had quietly expired in July and hadn’t been renewed.

“The first alert to police didn’t come from the Louvre’s alarms,” Faure said, “but from a cyclist outside who saw helmeted men using a basket lift.”

The Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, is now at the centre of a broader reckoning over how France protects its cultural treasures. Within days of the theft, another museum in eastern France reported stolen gold and silver coins, while last month burglars looted Paris’s Natural History Museum, escaping with gold nuggets worth $1.5 million.