The keeper of French presidential silverware and two other men will be tried for stealing porcelain and other valuable tableware, Paris prosecutors said.
The Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French president, reported the disappearance of cutlery and tableware used at state dinners and other events, with the value of the missing items estimated at between 15,000 and 40,000 euros ($17,500 and $46,800), prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said silver guard Thomas M. and his partner Damien G.were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of theft. They said another man, Ghislain M., was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Their full names were not given due to French privacy customs.
The French presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Interviews with presidential staff raised suspicions about Thomas M., whose suspicious inventory reduction adjustments appeared to anticipate future thefts, prosecutors said.
According to them, around a hundred objects were discovered in Thomas M.’s personal closet, his vehicle and his house, including copper pots, Sèvres porcelain and Baccarat champagne glasses.
Investigators found a plaque bearing the Air Force stamp and ashtrays.
French newspaper Le Parisien, which first reported the case, said Ghislain M. worked as a guard at the Louvre museum, citing his lawyer as saying his client’s motivation for the alleged involvement was his “passion” for rare antiquities.
A court banned him from returning to his position at the Louvre until his trial, the newspaper reports. The museum and prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
The museum suffered its own spectacular daylight burglary in October when thieves disguised as construction workers stole priceless pieces of France’s crown jewels, sparking a debate over security standards for the country’s historic monuments.
The Sèvres porcelain factory, one of the main suppliers to the Élysée, identified several objects on auction sites, the prosecution said, specifying that certain objects had been returned.
The trial is scheduled for February.
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