An armed gang robbed a Chanel watch and jewellery store near the upmarket Place Vendome in central Paris in broad daylight on Thursday, police told AFP. The four people involved are still on the run.
Police cordoned off the area shortly after the robbery, and the store was shuttered.
Nobody was hurt during the heist, and there was no immediate indication of the bounty’s value.
Police said at least one of the four, who were all masked and wore helmets, carried an assault rifle. A witness said the others also had automatic weapons.
They made their getaway on two motorbikes in a scene that was filmed by a bystander and widely shared on social media.
The clip shows three people dressed in black leaving the boutique while a fourth, carrying an assault rifle on a shoulder strap, waited on a motorcycle.
A witness, 26-year-old Anastasia Martino who works in a clothes store across from Chanel, said she was on a cigarette break when she noticed “a man with a Kalashnikov on a motorbike”, at around 2:30pm local time.
Getaway bikes
“Two minutes later, three other men left the boutique carrying big black bags. They, too, had automatic weapons, got on two motorbikes and left in a hurry,” she said.
Noura B, from the police union Alliance 75, told journalists: “I think we are dealing with people who are well-practiced in this kind of action” – referring to the fact that the heist took place in the space of five minutes.
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The Chanel shop is located on Rue de La Paix, close to Place Vendome, an area with a high concentration of luxury jewellery stores.
Founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel, the company is one of France’s leading fashion houses, selling haute couture and ready-to-wear clothes, perfumes, accessories and other luxury items.
