Louvre Museum heist: Two arrested over theft of jewels

French authorities have announced a major breakthrough in the investigation into the daring daylight theft of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum, with the arrest of two suspects.

French media outlets, including the newspaper Le Parisien, reported that the two men, originally from the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, were taken into custody in connection with the crime. One of the suspects was reportedly arrested as he was preparing to board a flight at Charles de Gaulle Airport, suggesting an attempt to flee the country.

Authorities suspect both men, around 30 years old, were part of a four-member gang that carried out a brazen seven-minute heist, making off with roughly $102 million in jewels.

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Though they dropped a diamond-and-emerald crown while fleeing, the thieves successfully stole eight other items, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace given by Napoleon to Empress Marie-Louise.

The arrests come just a week after four thieves, using power tools, broke into the world’s most-visited museum last Sunday and stole items of inestimable value. The audacity of the crime, carried out in broad daylight, shocked the nation and the international art world.

Earlier this week, a new video surfaced showing two thieves fleeing with valuable crown jewels. The footage captured them in construction outfits, escaping the scene using a hydraulic lift.

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New footage reveals the bold Louvre heist: two thieves lowering themselves from a balcony on a stolen lift, jewels in hand. They hijacked the lift days earlier, disguised it, and tried to torch it—but guards intervened. Still on the run with $96M in loot. pic.twitter.com/QY7ZpahwF8

— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) October 23, 2025

Earlier footage showed a robber smashing a glass case while museum-goers walked past.

The security lapse has become a national embarrassment. France’s Justice Minister has publicly conceded that the museum’s security protocols “failed,” an admission that has left the country with a “terrible image.”