Two people have been arrested over a recent heist at Paris's iconic Louvre Museum.
Three thieves stole £76million in jewels in just seven minutes, soon after the museum opened on October 19.
One of the individuals was arrested while trying to board a flight to Algeria from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on Saturday night, French media reported.
The other person was arrested shortly after, on the same evening.
The authorities are currently questioning both.
The suspects, both believed to be in their 30s, are initially from Seine-Saint-Denis in the French capital, according to reports.
The thieves targeted a room in the Apollo Gallery, where what remains of France’s crown jewels is kept.
Two of the men entered the building through a smashed window and stole nine pieces from Napoleon and the Empress's jewellery collection.
The Louvre Museum in central Paris has been closed after a robbery | GETTYOne stolen item was dropped while the thieves were escaping the building.
The museum, which is the most visited in the world, was forced to transfer its jewels to an extra-secure vault due to major security flaws.
They were sent to the Bank of France, just 500 metres away, under a secret police escort, where they remain in a vault 27 metres below the bank's head office and home to France’s gold reserves.
The Bank’s "Souterraine" vault, described as "impenetrable", has a half-metre thick, seven-tonne door and a 17-tonne cement block.
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A tiara worn by French Empress Eugenie was among the items stolen by thieves during a heist at Paris' Louvre Museum | REUTERS/LOUVRE MUSEUMThe Police have been unable to locate the eight missing pieces of jewellery, with searches remaining active.
Some fear the historic crown jewels have been melted and remodelled before being sold on the black market.
The group have been described as a "highly organised commando unit".
They were last seen disappearing on two Yamaha mopeds through the French capital.
One stolen item was dropped whilst the thieves were escaping the building
| GETTYLocated on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement and home to some of the most infamous works of Western art, the National Art Museum in Paris is one of the most famous museums in the world.
The artwork includes the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory.
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, initially built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II.
The attraction is the world's most-visited museum and a prominent tourist destination in the French capital, attracting up to nine million visitors each year.
In 2024, it received 8.7 million visitors, more than double the four million it was designed to accommodate.
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