Eleven-fifteen on the Rue de la Paix
The robbery hit at 11:15 on Thursday morning, on one of the most guarded streets in Paris. Men carrying long guns walked into the De Beers store at 12 Rue de la Paix, in the 2nd arrondissement just off Place Vendôme, showed their weapons and took what they came for. Nobody fired a shot. Nobody was hurt. Then the crew walked back out and disappeared on motorcycles, Paris police said.
Police did not name the jeweller in their first statement; French media identified it as De Beers, and a company spokesperson confirmed the robbery to the Associated Press, telling AP there were no serious injuries. The flagship sits less than 300 metres from France's justice ministry.
A lookout on the sidewalk, in plain sight
The footage French television aired within the hour is the part Paris will be talking about. A witness across the street — identified by RTL only as Antoine, coming out of an agency opposite — filmed one of the crew standing post on the sidewalk, helmet on, a long gun in his hands, watching the street while the others worked inside the store.
RTL's witness account put the whole job at about a minute and a half: two scooters arriving, one of them reportedly ridden into the store itself, the lookout holding the pavement outside. French reports put the crew at four men.
What they took is still an open question
The first number in circulation deserves a warning label. The Times reported the take at €1 million in diamonds, and Europe 1's early estimate topped €1 million as well — but the Paris prosecutor's office said the loss is still being evaluated and has not detailed what was taken. Read the €1 million as the reported figure, not an official count.
The BRB has the case
The Paris prosecutor opened a flagrance investigation for armed robbery by an organized gang and handed it to the Brigade de Répression du Banditisme — the BRB, the unit Paris sends after professional crews. Police were still searching for the robbers on Thursday, and no arrests had been announced.
Rue de la Paix runs into Place Vendôme, the square that anchors the Paris high-jewellery trade — flagship after flagship, a short walk from the justice ministry. A crew hit the biggest diamond name on the street in the middle of the morning and rode off into traffic. The street's cameras got their pictures. Whether the BRB gets its men is the next story.
Sources · 6 sources
- Reuters — “Paris police search for robbers after De Beers burglary” (Nov. 12, 13:21 UTC): robbery at 11:15 a.m. (1015 GMT), weapons shown but not fired, no one hurt, escape on motorcycles, store less than 300 metres from the justice ministry, value of items taken not immediately clear
- Associated Press — Nov. 12 (12:10 UTC): Paris police account of the robbery; De Beers spokesperson confirmation; no serious injuries
- BFMTV — live coverage and reporting, Nov. 12: Paris prosecutor opened a flagrance investigation for armed robbery by an organized gang (vol avec arme en bande organisée), assigned to the Brigade de Répression du Banditisme (BRB); witness video from the Rue de la Paix aired in coverage
- The Times — “Armed gang steal €1m in diamonds in three-minute daylight robbery” (Nov. 12): assault rifles, the De Beers shop in central Paris, about €1 million in diamonds, escape on motorcycles
- The Times (YouTube) — its Short of the robbery itself, the clip behind the paywalled player on the Times article; New York Post (YouTube) — aftermath footage from the Rue de la Paix, embedded above as the secondary video
- RTL / Europe 1 via French reporting, Nov. 12: witness account from across the street (the lookout on the sidewalk, roughly 90 seconds, a scooter ridden into the store); Europe 1's early estimate of the loss above €1 million, with the prosecutor's office stating the loss is still being evaluated
