Armed robbers seize jewels worth 4 million euros from Paris Ritz

Armed robbers launched a spectacular raid on the world-famous Ritz hotel in Paris Wednesday, making off with an estimated four million euros worth of jewels, the latest in a string of high-profile heists in the French capital.

The gang of five men armed with hatchets smashed display windows on the ground floor of the hotel in Paris’ luxurious Place Vendome around 6:30 pm (1730 GMT), making off with the jewels.

Three of the gang were detained while fleeing the scene and an AFP journalist said some roads around the hotel were sealed off by security forces following the incident. Two people were still being sought by authorities on Thursday evening.

“We heard a loud noise and lots of racket in the street,” one hotel employee told AFP. “Passers-by took refuge in the hotel. We didn’t know what was going on until someone told us there had been a robbery.”

Another employee said he saw a motorbike speed along a road at the back of the hotel after the break-in.

Several luxury brands display their jewels in the street-front windows of the Ritz.

A judicial source put the value of the jewels seized at “more than four million euros” ($4.75 million).

Interior minister Gerard Collomb praised officers’ “professionalism”, saying they had “done our police force credit”.

Paris prosecutors have opened a probe into the robbery, according to a judicial source.

Riches and robbers

Place Vendome, with its opulent window displays of jewellers and high-end watchmakers, has been the scene of several audacious daytime raids.