Police recover jewels but thieves still at large after Paris Ritz raid
● Fresh security questions as gang strikes in heart of French capital
Police in Paris have recovered most of the jewels stolen from the Ritz Hotel in a dramatic heist but are still searching for two thieves and any remaining missing luxury merchandise.
The robbery on Wednesday evening raised questions about security in one of the world’s most prestigious areas, the Place Vendome, whose well-guarded buildings include the French justice ministry, high-end boutiques and the 19th century Ritz.
Workers cleaned up shattered glass yesterday and started to repair damage from the robbery. Otherwise, business appeared to be returning to normal at the hotel, with no significant increase in security.
Three perpetrators “entered by the service entrance, smashed the jewellery stands, grabbed jewels that were clearly expensive with the help of axes”, said Jean-michel Huguet of police union Alliance Police Nationale.
They seized watches from display cases holding wares from Rolex and Piaget, and then targeted the Reza jewellery boutique inside the hotel.
The suspects inside threw bags of goods out a window to at least two accomplices outside, according to a police official. The three inside were then blocked when they tried to flee through another door, and quickly arrested.
The accomplices outside fled, one on a motorcycle and another in a car. The motorcyclist dropped a bag with jewels and hatchets when his motorcycle hit a pedestrian during his escape. The pedestrian was slightly injured. Other jewels were found scattered amid the debris of the shattered display cases during overnight cleanup efforts, the official said.
The overall value of the jewels on display was estimated at about €4.5 million (£3.9m).
A judicial official said yesterday that most of the jewels appeared to have been recovered. Authorities were working with the jewellers to determine if any items are still missing and their value, according to the official.
Another police official said some of the thieves apparently had guns. Two people inside the hotel hid from the thieves and alerted police, the official said.
Patrons at the hotel’s renowned Hemingway bar described panic as the thieves entered the hushed environment of the Ritz, where rooms start at €1,000 a night.
Several high-end Paris jewellery stores have been targets of dramatic robberies in recent years, including Cartier, Harry Winston and Chopard.
Kim Kardashian West said she lost millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery when she was robbed at gunpoint in a Paris flat in October 2016.
Diana, Princess of Wales, spent her last night at the Ritz in 1997 before the car crash that killed her and her lover Dodi Fayed, al-fayed’s son.
The former home of fashion designer Coco Chanel and author Marcel Proust, the Ritz was a favourite drinking hole of American writer Ernest Hemingway.
Armed heists targeting jewellery stores are not uncommon in the area.
Over the past few years police have kept a permanent presence.