French authorities say two men arrested in connection with the high-profile Louvre Museum jewel heist have partially confessed to their role in the theft — but none of the eight stolen pieces, valued at more than $102 million, have been recovered.
According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the suspects are believed to be part of a four-person team that carried out the daring daylight robbery on October 19 inside the museum’s Apollo Gallery, which houses the French Crown Jewels. The theft has drawn global attention to significant lapses in museum security at one of the world’s most visited cultural landmarks.
Beccuau said the suspects broke into the Louvre through an upstairs window while two accomplices waited below. “Both have partially admitted their involvement,” she told reporters, adding that investigators are not ruling out a wider network that could include a mastermind who commissioned the theft.
Police have found no evidence suggesting the heist was an inside job, though investigators continue to pursue that line of inquiry. Beccuau said authorities remain hopeful that the jewels will be recovered and safely returned to the museum.
The two suspects were identified through DNA evidence left at the scene and arrested last weekend. One, a 34-year-old Algerian national, was detained at a Paris airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria. The other, a 39-year-old man already under judicial supervision for aggravated theft, was arrested in the same northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.
Prosecutors are seeking to place both men under formal investigation for organized theft, a procedural step in the French justice system indicating sufficient evidence exists for an ongoing probe, though it does not automatically mean they will face trial.
Authorities said the group used a stolen elevator truck to reach an exterior balcony, smashed a window, and entered the gallery undetected. Security cameras failed to respond in time to prevent the robbery, which lasted only six to seven minutes before the thieves fled on motorbikes.
In the aftermath of the heist, the Louvre has reportedly transferred some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France under police escort, according to local media, as officials reassess museum security procedures.
The audacious theft has sparked widespread criticism and embarrassment in France, with many viewing it as a national security failure and a stain on the reputation of one of the world’s premier museums.
