AILSA CHANG, HOST:
French police arrested two men over the weekend suspected in the jewel heist at the Louvre last week. Authorities are still looking for two other suspected accomplices and the royal jewels, which are worth more than a hundred million dollars. The case seems to be moving quickly, and the French are fascinated. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER: (Speaking French).
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: There's been nonstop news coverage since two men were arrested Saturday night - one, as he tried to board a plane to Algiers, a second in the Paris suburbs. They were tracked down through their own fingerprints and DNA on objects left behind at the scene of the crime - a circular saw, a reflective vest, a motorcycle helmet, a gas canister, a glove and a walkie-talkie. French media say the men were already known to police. Magali Rapuzzi with the forensic police spoke on news channel BFM.
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MAGALI RAPUZZI: (Through interpreter) If the individual's fingerprints and DNA are already in the database, it can go very quickly. In just a few hours, they can pull up a profile and identify the person.
BEARDSLEY: French media say the men, who have not been named, are in their 30s. Police have 96 hours - four days - to get them to talk before they have to charge or release them. There is pressure to locate the jewels before they can be dismantled or taken out of the country. Christian Flaesch, the former director of the Paris police, spoke about the case on RTL radio.
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CHRISTIAN FLAESCH: (Through interpreter) If the jewels are taken apart, this will be a huge loss for the French cultural heritage, but also for their value because part of it is historical. And if the stones are sold separately, they'll have to be recut because they're recognizable.
BEARDSLEY: There's also talk of an accomplice inside the Louvre. Flaesch says that's entirely possible.
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FLAESCH: (Through interpreter) Who could imagine you'd scale a ladder up to a balcony of the Louvre without having a minimum guarantee of what the security situation is inside?
BEARDSLEY: The jewels were made for Empress Eugenie, the wife of 19th century Emperor Napoleon III. Author Petie Kladstrup has just written a book about France's last empress. She calls her a rebellious tour de force who fought for women's rights.
PETIE KLADSTRUP: She fought against what she called sex prejudice before the word feminism was created. And in one of the more famous portraits, she is standing wearing the tiara with her hand resting on the crown.
BEARDSLEY: The same gold crown with 1,300 diamonds and emeralds that the thieves dropped in their hasty departure. Fascination for the case doesn't seem to be waning. On the banks of the Seine River across from that famous balcony, tourists gather and take pictures.
UNIDENTIFIED TOURISTS: (Non-English language spoken).
BEARDSLEY: A group of Malaysian engineering students gets a selfie with the Louvre balcony in the background. Eunice Yo and Kate Wong say they couldn't stay away.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #1: A week before we came here, we read the news (laughter). We are like, we must take a picture here.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #2: 'Cause we think it's very historic.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #1: Yeah.
BEARDSLEY: A little further on, bookseller Karim Antille (ph) sits in front of his riverside book stall. He was working that fateful Sunday morning but says he didn't see a thing. He's impressed by the quick police work.
KARIM ANTILLE: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: "Our police are incredible," he says. "It is so important to get these cultural pieces back. You shouldn't steal in the first place, but don't touch our heritage." Getting back that heritage could be tricky. French media are reporting that the two suspects are adopting a classic strategy - saying nothing. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.
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