VIDEO: Robbers in elegant suits steal jewels worth 10 million euros from Bulgari store in Paris
French Nationale Police officers form a security cordon on the Place Vendome square in Paris. AFP
Armed robbers attacked a Bulgari store in the prestigious Place Vendome in Paris and stole 10 million euros ($11.84 million) in jewels, police in the French capital said on Tuesday.
Just before midday, three men, dressed in elegant suits and armed with rifles, robbed the recently renovated shop on the square in central Paris where the Ritz is located. The three escaped in a car, while four others who participated in the crime fled on motorbikes.
The three had to leave their car and start running before two of them were arrested by the police who were chasing them.
A Bulgari representative was not immediately available for comment.
The store belongs to LVMH, owned by French billionaire Bernard Arnault.
There have been a series of robberies at jewellery stores in Paris in the past few months.
Security and crime issues are likely to top voters' concerns in next year's presidential elections.
In July, thieves in an attack on the Chaumet jewellery store near the Champs-Elysees stole items valued at about two million euros ($2.4 million), but the stolen items were later recovered and the police arrested the suspects.
The Dinh Van store jewellery store in central Paris was also subjected to an armed robbery in the same month.
