Two individuals implicated in the high-profile Louvre jewel heist have “partially” confessed to their roles in the audacious burglary, according to a Paris prosecutor. They are believed to be the ones who broke into the renowned museum, which attracts more visitors than any other in the world.

Prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced during a press conference that the suspects are facing preliminary charges for theft by an organized group and criminal conspiracy. They are anticipated to be held in provisional detention. While specific details of their statements were not disclosed, the prosecutor confirmed their admissions of involvement.

The daring theft, which occurred on October 19, saw the criminals make off with jewels valued at €88 million ($135 million) in under eight minutes—a crime that stunned onlookers globally. The robbers accessed the museum by forcing a window, using power tools to cut through display cases, and escaping with eight pieces of the French crown jewels.

One of the suspects is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been residing in France since 2010. As detailed by Beccuau on Wednesday afternoon, he was apprehended at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday night (early Sunday morning AEDT) while attempting to board a flight to Algeria with a one-way ticket. The man lived in the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers and was previously known to authorities primarily for traffic violations.

He was arrested on Saturday night (Sunday morning AEDT) at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket. He was living in Paris’ northern suburb of Aubervilliers and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences, Beccuau said.

The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.

“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” Beccuau said. The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed and on items the thieves left behind, she added.

Prosecutors had faced a late Wednesday deadline to charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.

The jewels are still missing

The jewels have not been recovered, Beccuau said.

“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable … Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods,” she warned.

“It’s still time to give them back.”

Earlier on Wednesday, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences — turning the dazzling daylight theft into a national reckoning over how France protects its treasures.

Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure told Senate politicians that aging systems and slow-moving fixes left weak seams in the museum.

“A technological step has not been taken,” he said, noting that parts of the video network are still analogue, producing lower-quality images that are slow to share in real time.

A long-promised revamp — an €80 million ($141 million) project requiring roughly 60 kilometres of new cabling — “will not be finished before 2029–2030”, he said.

Faure also disclosed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and wasn’t renewed — a paperwork lapse that some see as a symbol of broader negligence.

The police chief said officers “arrived extremely fast” after the theft, but added the lag in response occurred earlier in the chain — from first detection, to museum security, to the emergency line, to police command.

Faure and his team said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.

A lack of private insurance

The theft also exposed an insurance blind spot: Officials say the jewels were not privately insured.

The French state self-insures its national museums, because premiums for covering priceless heritage are astronomically high — meaning the Louvre will receive no payout for the loss. The financial blow, like the cultural wound, is total.

Faure pushed back on quick fixes. He rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the palace-museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast, mobile crews.

“The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert,” he said.

He urged politicians to authorise tools currently off-limits: AI-based anomaly detection and object tracking (not facial recognition) to flag suspicious movements and follow scooters or gear across city cameras in real time.

Former bank robber David Desclos has told the AP the theft was textbook and vulnerabilities were glaringly obvious in the layout of the gallery.

Museum and culture officials under pressure

Culture Minister Rachida Dati, under pressure, has refused the Louvre director’s resignation and insisted that alarms worked, while acknowledging “security gaps did exist”. She has kept details to a minimum, citing ongoing investigations.

The museum was already under strain. In June, the Louvre shut in a spontaneous staff strike — including security agents — over unmanageable crowds, chronic understaffing and “untenable” conditions. Unions say mass tourism and construction pinch points create blind spots, a vulnerability underscored by the thieves who rolled a basket lift to the Seine-facing façade.

Faure said police will now track surveillance-permit deadlines across institutions to prevent repeats of the July lapse. But he stressed the larger fix is disruptive and slow: ripping out and rebuilding core systems while the palace stays open, and updating the law so police can act on suspicious movement in real time.