New robbery of a jewelry store in the Place Vendôme district in Paris. This Thursday afternoon, it is the Chanel brand, located rue de la Paix, which was the victim of an armed robbery, announce the police forces. According to the testimonies collected, four people, all dressed in black and wearing full-face helmets, fled on a motorcycle and a scooter. One of the robbers was armed with a Kalashnikov-type assault rifle, and the other three with handguns.
What seems to confirm a video broadcast on social networks. Under the threat of these weapons, they forced the security guards to open the displays of the jewelry store, in order to fill their black bags with jewelry. According to our information, the amount of damage would amount to two or three million euros. There were no injuries, said a police source.
The banditry repression brigade (BRB), seized of the investigation, went on the spot, announced in a tweet the Paris police headquarters. The luxury boutique is located rue de la Paix, not far from Place Vendôme, known for its renowned jewelers. Shortly after the events, rue de la Paix was sealed off with a security cordon and police personnel were dispatched in front of the shop, the metal shutter of which was down. If witnesses were able to photograph one of the two license plates, the investigators quickly found that it was false.
Anastasia Martino, 26, a saleswoman in a costume store located opposite the Chanel store, said it was around “2:30 p.m.” when the robbery took place. “I was smoking a cigarette before my lunch when I saw a lonely man with a Kalashnikov on a motorbike.” “Two minutes later, three other men came out with big black bags. They also had automatic weapons, they got on two motorbikes and left very quickly,” she added.
The neighborhood targeted several times
For Cyril Ngo, 31, supervisor in the same store as the young woman, it was “not pros, because it lasted a good ten minutes”. “There are even people who crossed in front of the lookout without realizing that he was armed,” he continued. “A customer warned us. We immediately called the police, who didn’t believe us. We had to call back, he said, for them to take us seriously and intervene.
Last September, the Bulgari jewelry store, located on the same square, was also robbed. Seven helmeted and gloved men had rushed into this shop, armed with a pistol and a rifle. The damage was estimated at ten million euros.
Last January, the Paris Assize Court tried ten men for having robbed the famous jeweler Chopard in December 2015 and the Chanel store (VIII) in May 2016.