JAKARTA - A staff at the Élysée Palace in Paris was arrested for allegedly stealing silverware and porcelain tableware from the official residence of the President of France. The total value of the missing items is estimated at 40 thousand euros or around Rp. 790 million.
Reported by The Guardian, the man works as a silverware steward and was arrested along with two people suspected of being accomplices. They are accused of taking items from the palace and trying to sell them through online auction sites such as Vinted.
The head of the palace's stewards, who is tasked with overseeing the inventory, found a number of missing items, including some considered national heritage. Most of the tableware came from the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, a renowned manufacturer that has been state-owned since 1759.
The investigation revealed that other Élysée Palace staff recognized some of the missing items when they appeared on the online auction site. Prosecutors said the inventory records made by the suspects showed indications of planning the next theft.
Police found around 100 items in the suspect's home, vehicle, and personal locker, including Sèvres porcelain, a sculpture by René Lalique, Baccarat champagne glasses, and copper pots.
Some of the items sold on the suspect's Vinted account, including plates marked 'French Air Force' and ashtrays 'Sèvres Factory', which are not usually sold to the public.
The suspect and his two colleagues have had a hearing on December 18 and are scheduled to return to court on February 26. They are subject to legal supervision, are prohibited from contacting each other, may not attend auctions, and are frozen from professional activities.
The items that were successfully confiscated have been returned to the Élysée Palace. This case has come under the spotlight amid a spate of thefts at French cultural institutions in recent months, including a robbery at the Louvre Museum and other museums.
In addition to the Louvre, the Paris Natural History Museum and the porcelain museum in Limoges were also victims of recent thefts, losing gold and porcelain worth millions of euros. Even the Maison des Lumières in Langres was once robbed with 2,000 gold and silver coins taken away by thieves.
The Élysée Palace case is a reminder of the importance of strict surveillance of valuable items in French state institutions and museums.
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