Louvre Heist: Two Additional Suspects Charged Amidst Ongoing Investigation

Sun Nov 02 2025 20:31:32 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a swift move by authorities, two more individuals are charged in connection with the high-profile jewellery theft at the Louvre Museum, where jewels worth €88 million were stolen.

The investigation into the dramatic jewellery heist at the Louvre has seen two more individuals charged with theft and conspiracy, adding to the growing list of suspects as authorities seek to recover stolen treasures worth €88 million. The public expresses relief at the swift action taken but critiques the security lapses that allowed the theft to occur.

Two more people have been charged over a theft at the Louvre Museum last month, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

A 38-year-old woman has been 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. Both denied any involvement.

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.

Jewels worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the world's most-visited museum on 19 October.

Four men carried out the lightning-quick daylight theft.

Two of the alleged thieves - who had been arrested earlier - later admitted their involvement.

The French public is relieved to see quick progress in the investigation - but many see the whole episode as a humiliating embarrassment for the country.

On Saturday, the woman who has been charged was in tears as she appeared before a magistrate and confirmed that she lived in Paris's northern suburb of La Courneuve, a journalist working for the AFP news agency reported.

The magistrate later ruled that the woman - who has not been named - must stay in custody.

The 37-year-old man - whose identity has also not been revealed - was also ordered to stay in pre-trial detention. He is known to the French justice system for past robberies.

In the meantime, the suspect can remain in detention if a judge believes he or she is a potential danger to the public, or might abscond, or might collude with others to arrange evidence.

This last argument was used to justify the continued detention of the 38-year-old woman.

The alleged role of the second suspect - the 37-year-old man - is not clear. But when the five were detained on Wednesday, the prosecutor's office said that one of them was linked by DNA to the crime scene.

Preliminary results of an enquiry into the robbery were released by Culture Minister Rachida Dati on Friday. She stated that for years museum authorities had gravely underestimated the risks of intrusion and theft, promising that new measures would be in place by the end of the year.

Following the incident, the Louvre has tightened security measures around France's cultural institutions, and some of its most precious jewels have been transferred to the Bank of France.