FranceLink

High-class jewellery store robbery ends in cross-Paris chase with police

The heist at the Champs Elysées Cartier store by armed robbers ended after they surrendered during a hostage siege near Montparnasse.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A jewellery heist on one the world's most prestigious jewellery stores has been foiled, and both would-be thieves are in police custody after an attempted escape amidst a flurry of security forces, according to police, eyewitnesses and French media, reports CNN.

Two robbers entered the landmark Cartier jewellery store located on Champs Elysées in Paris on Tuesday evening, according to police spokesman Luc Poignant speaking to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

While exiting the jewellery store, the thieves fired on police forces, says Poignant, who returned fire on the pair of robbers.

A police chase ensued after the pair of robbers jumped on a scooter and left the immediate scene, followed by police.

The two robbers then holed up in a nearby hair salon, where a local shop owner tells BFM that a hostage was taken.

The suspects surrendered late Tuesday, walking out of the salon with their hands in the air, according to an eye-witness speaking to BFM TV.

Read more of this report from CNN.