Soldiers patrol in the courtyard of the Louvre museum after the heist
French authorities have filed preliminary charges against four individuals in connection with the theft of crown jewels worth $102 million from the Louvre Museum, with investigators still searching for a fifth suspect believed to be the mastermind behind the heist.According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, three of the charged individuals are suspected of direct involvement in the break-in. Two of them were previously convicted together in 2015 for theft, and all four live in Paris’s northern suburbs.The stolen jewels remain missing, while French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that investigators are still pursuing leads to locate the organiser of the operation. In keeping with French legal norms, the suspects’ full identities have not been disclosed to protect the ongoing investigation.
Key details about the suspects
Here’s what we know about the fours suspects:
- A 34-year-old Algerian national, who has been living in France since 2010, is suspected of being one of the two men who entered the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery with disc cutters to prise open display cases and steal jewels valued at 88 million euros. He was arrested on October 25 at Charles de Gaulle Airport, six days after the heist, as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Algeria. His DNA matched samples found on a scooter believed to have been used in the getaway. Residing in the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, the suspect is known to police mainly for minor traffic offences and one theft. Currently unemployed, he told investigators he had previously worked as a garbage collector and delivery driver. He faces preliminary charges of theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy.
- Another man, aged 39, was arrested the same day at his home in Aubervilliers. Investigators believe he was the second individual who entered the Apollo Gallery during the heist. His DNA was found on one of the shattered glass cases and on several items the thieves left behind. Known to police for multiple thefts, he gave what prosecutors described as a “minimalist” statement, only partially admitting involvement. The 39-year-old is also awaiting trial for damaging property inside a detention facility during a previous theft investigation in which he was later cleared. He told police he works as an unlicensed taxi driver and faces the same preliminary charges as the first suspect.
- The third accused, a 37-year-old man with 11 prior convictions — ten of them for theft — was arrested ten days after the robbery. Investigators say his DNA was found inside the basket of the lift truck used in the operation, which the thieves disguised as part of a renovation project to access the museum’s first-floor window. He is believed to have been responsible for logistics and planning, helping coordinate the getaway route along the Seine. Despite his record, he has denied involvement. Authorities also noted that he had been convicted in a 2015 theft case alongside the 39-year-old suspect, pointing to a long-standing criminal connection.
- The fourth suspect, a 38-year-old woman from La Courneuve, is the longtime partner of the 37-year-old man and the only woman charged in the case. The couple share children and live near Aubervilliers, close to the other suspects’ homes. A small trace of her DNA was found on the lift truck, which prosecutors believe could have resulted from secondary transfer. She has denied any role in the theft, with her lawyer claiming she is being targeted solely because of her relationship with one of the main suspects. She faces charges of complicity in theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy.
France was left stunned on October 19 after jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) were stolen from the Louvre Museum. Thieves used a basket lift to scale the museum’s façade, forced open a window, and smashed display cases, escaping in under seven minutes with eight royal treasures. Surveillance footage captured four men arriving in a truck fitted with a lift, using it to climb through a first-floor window before escaping along the Seine on motor scooters.The stolen collection included a sapphire diadem, an emerald necklace, and Empress Eugénie’s diamond brooch. One piece — Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown — was later recovered outside the museum, damaged but repairable.
