A silver steward employed at the Élysée Palace in Paris has been arrested for allegedly stealing silverware and porcelain worth up to €40,000 (£35,000). The man, along with two alleged accomplices, is accused of taking items from the official residence of the French president and attempting to sell them on online auction sites such as Vinted.
The head steward at the palace alerted authorities after noticing missing objects, some of which are considered items of national heritage. Most of the pieces came from the Sèvres Manufactory, a famed porcelain factory owned by the French state since 1759. Investigators began questioning Élysée staff after factory personnel recognised some of the missing items on auction sites.
Prosecutors said inventory records made by the arrested steward gave the impression he was planning future thefts. According to investigators, his Vinted account included a plate stamped “French Air Force” and ashtrays marked “Sèvres Manufactory” – items not usually available to the public. About 100 objects were recovered from his home, vehicle and personal locker, including Sèvres porcelain, a René Lalique statuette, Baccarat champagne coupes and copper saucepans.
The steward and his alleged accomplices appeared in court on 18 December and will be tried on 26 February. They were placed under judicial supervision, banned from contacting one another, prohibited from appearing at auction venues and barred from their professional activities. The recovered items were returned to the Élysée.
The alleged thefts come amid a wave of robberies from French cultural institutions, including the Louvre, which is still missing crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£77m) after a daylight raid in October. Other targeted institutions include Paris’s Natural History Museum and a porcelain museum in Limoges, both raided in September.
