Louvre heist carried out by petty criminals, prosecutor says

Last month’s jewellery heist at the Louvre museum was carried out by petty criminals rather than organised crime professionals, Paris’s prosecutor has said.

“This is not quite everyday delinquency… but it is a type of delinquency that we do not generally associate with the upper echelons of organised crime,” Laure Beccuau told franceinfo radio.

She said four people arrested and charged so far over the theft that shocked France and the world were “clearly local people” living in Seine-Saint-Denis, an impoverished area just north of Paris.

Jewels worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the most-visited museum, in the French capital, on 19 October.

In Sunday’s interview to franceinfo radio, Beccuau said the four arrested people – three men and a woman – “all live more or less in Seine-Saint-Denis”.

She said two of the male suspects had been known to the police, as they each had multiple theft convictions.

On Saturday, a 38-year-old woman was charged with complicity in organised theft and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime.

Separately, a man, aged 37, was charged with theft and criminal conspiracy.

The suspects – who have not been publicly named – both denied any involvement.

Beccuau said the two were in a relationship and had children together, without giving any further details.

Two men who had previously been arrested were already charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after officials said they had “partially recognised” their involvement in the heist.

Investigators believe four men carried out the daylight theft, and one of them is still on the run.

Three other people detained earlier this week have been released without charge.

On the day of the heist, the suspects arrived at 09:30 local time (07:30 GMT), just after the museum opened to visitors, Ms Beccuau told reporters last week.

The suspects arrived with a stolen vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine. The men used a disc cutter to crack open display cases housing the jewellery.

Prosecutors said the thieves were inside for four minutes and made their escape on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38, before switching to cars.

One of the stolen items – a crown – was dropped during the escape. The other seven jewels have not been found.

The fear is that they have already been spirited abroad, though the prosecutor in charge of the case has said she is still hopeful they can be retrieved intact.

Since the incident, security measures have been tightened around France’s cultural institutions.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France following the heist.