Armed robbers in £4m jewellery raid at Paris Ritz
TWO armed robbers were on the run last night with jewellery worth about £4million after a terrifying raid on the Ritz hotel in Paris.
Shots were heard as at least five balaclava-clad thugs rushed into the five-star “palace” brandishing guns and axes, as staff and guests were told to lie on the floor amid fears of a terror attack.
“The attackers then used axes to smash open reinforced glass cases containing jewellery while filling bags,” a source at the world-famous hotel in the Place Vendome said.
“As they tried to get away police officers arrived and three of the robbers were pulled to the ground and then arrested.”
Two others got out the back door of the hotel and were seen running away and then getting on mopeds.
The source added: “Bar staff told everybody to remain calm and not to do anything stupid. Some clients were ushered down into the basement for safety. Shots from what sounded like a handgun were heard at one point.
“There were initial fears that a terrorist attack was going on but it soon became clear that it was a robbery.”
Witnesses said bullets could be seen on the hotel floor and pictures showed shattered glass.
The attackers wore ski balaclavas and sports clothes and had rucksacks on their backs. The three who were arrested were known to police, according to reports.
A woman sitting with her parents at the Hemingway bar, towards the rear of the hotel, said staff locked customers in the kitchen.
She said: “We were about to leave when we heard shouting from the bartenders to get down. One man wearing a ski mask ran from the bar door to the front of the bar right past my father. He had an axe in his hand.
“Immediately the bartender closed and locked the door and corralled everyone to the back kitchen area of the bar. We heard at least 10 rounds of gunfire so everyone dived behind the bar where we stayed for about six minutes.”
Security at the Ritz was tightened in 2014 after a series of daylight robberies on jewellery shops in the Place Vendome. The hotel is next door to France’s Justice Ministry, where soldiers stand guard 24 hours a day.
The Ritz is owned by the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. It was the last place where Diana, Princess of Wales, dined before her death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, alongside Mr Al-Fayed’s son Dodi.