Two Arrested, Admit Role in October Louvre Heist

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said two men arrested over the October 19 daylight raid on the Louvre have “partially” admitted involvement, but the eight crown jewels, worth about €88 million ($102 million), remain missing. Investigators say the gang used a crane or ladder to reach an upstairs Apollo Gallery window, smashed it during opening hours, cut display cases with power tools and fled on motorbikes in a raid that took under eight minutes. A 34-year-old Algerian national was stopped at Charles de Gaulle airport as he tried to leave France and a 39-year-old man from Aubervilliers was arrested at home; DNA and items left at the scene linked them and two other suspects remain at large. The pair face preliminary charges of theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy that can carry up to 15 years in prison and are expected to be held pending further investigation. Authorities, with more than 100 investigators on the case, warned the jewels are effectively unsellable and may have been shattered, recut or smelted to hide provenance. The heist has prompted national scrutiny of museum security, with police citing ageing analogue systems, lapses in camera authorisation and slow upgrades as key vulnerabilities.