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ROBBERY

Paris: Armed man attempts bank heist near Arc de Triomphe

An armed man has been arrested after attempting to rob a bank near one of Paris's most famous tourist sites, the Arc de Triomphe on Friday morning.

Published: 16 February 2018 13:07 CET
Paris: Armed man attempts bank heist near Arc de Triomphe
The BNP Paribas where the incident took place. Photo: Google Streetview
The man, aged 24, attempted to rob a BNP Paribas in the city's upmarket 17th arrondissement at around 9 am on Friday morning.  
 
He was shot by police during his arrest which left him with wounds “in the thigh and perhaps in the chest,” according to French press reports. 
 
He has since been hospitalised.  
 
The video below shows police officers with the man after he was injured. 
 
 
The incident took place at the BNP Paribas branch located at 24 avenue de la Grande Armee (see map below) just 400 metres from the Arc de Triomphe monument, one of the city's biggest tourist attractions which commemorates the country's military victories and war dead.
 
A 24-year-old man burst into the bank on Avenue de la Grande Armee shortly after it opened. The alarm was raised and the police were waiting for the man when he came out brandishing a gun.
 
The police said he was a known criminal, with a history of armed robbery.
   
Paris has been the scene of several spectacular robberies in recent years, mostly involving jewels.
 
 
Map shows where the incident took place. Google maps
 
Indeed, this incident comes just one month after a gang of five robbers armed with hatchets launched a spectacular raid on the world famous Ritz hotel in Paris, making off with an estimated four million euros worth of jewels.
 
Photo: AFP
 
READ ALSO:
Axe-wielding robbers steal millions in raid on Paris Ritz
 

ROBBERY

Axe-wielding robbers steal €400k of jewels from luxury Paris hotel

French police are searching for a team of robbers who stole thousands of euros' worth of jewels and luxury clothing in a nighttime raid at a plush hotel in Paris.

Published: 5 April 2019 09:34 CEST
Axe-wielding robbers steal €400k of jewels from luxury Paris hotel
Thieves targeted the Peninsula Hotel in Paris. Photo: AFP

Two men wearing balaclavas and gloves entered the Peninsula hotel, just a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe, shortly after midnight and held employees at gunpoint, police sources said.

One of the attackers then used an axe to break into four display cases, making off with items worth a total of €350,000 to €400,000.

An accomplice then drove them away in a car that was found burning shortly afterwards in the suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of the capital.

No shots were fired and no one was injured in the robbery, the sources said.

France's organised crime brigade has taken over the inquiry.

Luxury Paris hotels have been the target of several robberies in recent years, as have jewellery stores and wealthy tourists visiting the city.

In January 2018, three men were charged over an audacious yet unsuccessful jewellery heist at the Ritz, after they were thwarted by locked doors as they tried to flee.

Last September, three Russian tourists were robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry and luxury clothing shortly after landing at a Paris airport reserved for private jets.

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