LONDON — French authorities have arrested two men in connection with last week’s major jewelry robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the French National Police confirmed to ABC News, amid a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators.
A suspect was arrested at 10 p.m. Saturday at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport while trying to board a plane bound for Algeria, police said.
Police did not offer any information about the timing or circumstances of the second suspect’s arrest.
Police stand guard in front of the Louvre museum at the Louvre, on October 19, 2025, in Paris, France.
Remón Haazen/Getty Images
Both men are suspected of being part of the team that allegedly robbed the Louvre last week. Both are from Seine Saint Denis, a northeastern suburb of Paris, police said.
Authorities launched a nationwide search for Louvre suspects after the robbery of the museum’s Apollo Gallery on the morning of October 19, just before the museum opened to the public.
The stolen items included crowns, necklaces, earrings and brooches, some of which belonged to Emperor Napoleon and his wife.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau estimated the stolen goods were worth about $102 million.
The team of thieves approached the museum in what police described as a “mobile freight elevator” equipped with a metal ladder at the back that extended to a window, according to Paris police.
“They deployed the forklift, securing the surrounding area with construction cones, before accessing the second floor, in the Apollo Gallery, breaking the window with an angle grinder,” according to the police statement.
“Inside, they smashed two display cases, ‘Napoleon Jewels’ and ‘French Crown Jewels’, with the angle grinder, and stole numerous pieces of high-value jewellery,” police said.
An infographic of the Louvre Museum robbery.
Anadolu via Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that authorities would catch those responsible for what he described as an “attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history.”
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who is overseeing the investigation along with the Justice Ministry, described the heist to ABC News as “a simple but spectacular operation.”
Shortly after the robbery, investigators said four suspects left the scene on two motorcycles, driving through central Paris and were last seen speeding southeast on the A6 motorway, out of Paris and toward Lyon.
ABC News’ Aicha Elhammar and Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
