Suspects in Louvre jewel heist arrested near Paris, prosecutor says

By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) -Suspects have been arrested over the brazen jewellery heist at the Louvre, just as one of them was about to fly out of France, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday.

Two men in their 30s and originally from the capital's Seine-Saint-Denis suburb - which includes some of the country's most deprived areas - were detained on Saturday evening, according to Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the story.

They were known to French police and one of the suspects was about to fly to Algeria from Charles de Gaulle airport, the newspaper said.

There was no indication on Sunday that any of France's stolen crown jewels had been recovered.

PROSECUTOR ANGERED BY LEAK

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not say how many people were arrested or give any more details about them. In a statement, she deplored the fact that information about their arrest was leaked.

"This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the 100 or so mobilised investigators, both in the search for the stolen jewellery and for all the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any specific details," Beccuau said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, under public pressure to deliver results a week to the day after the robbery, congratulated investigators in a tweet, but gave no more detail.

Four hooded thieves made off with eight precious pieces worth an estimated $102 million from the Louvre's collection on October 19, exposing security lapses at the world's most-visited museum.

They broke in using a crane to smash an upstairs window during opening hours and escaped on motorbikes.

News of the robbery reverberated around the world, prompting soul-searching in France over what some regarded as a national humiliation.

The stolen treasures included a tiara and an earring from the jewellery of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense from the early 19th century. 

The crown of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was found damaged outside the museum. The thieves apparently dropped the piece, made of gold, emeralds and diamonds, as they made their getaway.

Built in the late 12th century, the Louvre Palace used to be the official residence of the kings of France, until Louis XIV abandoned it for Versailles. It was turned into a museum for the royal art collection in 1793, four years after the French Revolution.

Its huge collection of masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo statue, brought in 8.7 million visitors last year.

(Reporting by Michel Rose and Kate Entringer; editing by Aidan Lewis, Mark Heinrich and Andrew Heavens)