A 38-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man have been charged in connection with the heist of priceless Napoleonic crown jewels from the Louvre last month.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccau said on Saturday that the man was charged with theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy, and the woman is accused of being an accomplice.
Both have denied their involvement in the robbery of priceless crown jewels in a daylight heist that has gripped France and stunned art lovers around the world, Beccau said, and both remain in custody while the investigation continues.
Adrien Sorrentino, the lawyer representing the accused woman, told reporters his client is “devastated” to have been accused of the crime.
“She does not understand how she is implicated in any of the elements she is accused of,” he said.
Read more: How Thieves Carried Out An Audacious Heist of ‘Priceless’ Napoleonic Jewels
The woman was in tears as she appeared in the dock on Saturday to confirm her address and hear the charges against her, the French daily newspaper Le Parisien reported.
A total of four people have now been charged with the robbery.
Two men, aged 34 and 39, both from north of Paris, were charged this week with theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
The 34-year-old, reportedly an Algerian national, was arrested as he was about to board a plane to Algeria at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, prosecutors said. His DNA was matched to traces found on a scooter used in the getaway.
Three others arrested in connection with the case have been released.
Sofia Bougrine and Noemie Gorin, lawyers representing one of the three who was released, said their client was not charged.
“In these serious crime cases, we find that waves of arrests look more like drift nets,” Bougrine told AFP on Saturday.
There is no indication that any of the stolen items have been recovered.
Beccuau, the prosecutor, has previously expressed anger over leaks from the investigation to the press, saying they risk imperilling the work of detectives.
Investigators say the brazen theft took just under seven minutes on the morning of October 19, during which the thieves escaped with eight pieces from France’s Crown Jewels. Two of the four thieves entered the museum via the Seine-facing facade at around 9:30 a.m. local time, shortly after the museum’s opening. Using a cherry picker, they accessed the Apollo Gallery jewel room directly on the first floor, which is less than 300 yards from the famed Mona Lisa.
The stolen items include emerald- and sapphire-encrusted diadems, necklaces, and brooches once worn by the wives of Napoleon Bonaparte and other 19th-century royals. One piece—the Empress’s crown, fitted with over 1,000 jewels—was found outside the Museum. Other jewels included a tiara and necklace worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, dating to the early 19th century. Officials estimate the collection’s value at roughly $100 million.
Officials revealed that surveillance footage showed the thieves entering “calmly” and smashing display cases containing the jewels. France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati said there was “no violence” during the heist, which she described as “very professional.”
The heist has also placed President Emmanuel Macron and Louvre director Laurence des Cars under renewed pressure.
Macron referred to the incident as “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history,” and vowed to “recover the works” and bring the perpetrators “to justice.”
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin later acknowledged serious failures, saying that the fact a freight lift could be installed on a public street outside the Louvre without being detected “shows that our systems must be reassessed.” He added that the incident “projects a negative image of France” and confirmed that a full security review is underway.
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