French police arrest six after armed robbery at gold laboratory

Members of the French Research and Intervention Brigade police unit check the scene of a robbery at a gold refining laboratory in Lyon on Oct. 30, 2025. Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE /AFP

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Lyon — Six people armed with military-grade weapons used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon, slightly injuring five employees in the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit France.

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The audacious raid in the eastern city took place on Thursday afternoon, with police quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the loot estimated at 12 million euros (US$13.8 million), officials said.

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Five employees of Laboratoires Pourquery were “slightly injured in the explosion” and three were taken to hospital for checks, the regional prefecture told AFP. Twenty-eight employees were present when the robbers struck.

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The suspects, believed to be seasoned criminals, were detained shortly after in the neighbouring town of Venissieux, a source close to the case told AFP. A woman, an accomplice who took part in the robbery, was also arrested, a police source told AFP.

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“Six people who used explosives in an attack on a precious metals company in Lyon were caught red-handed,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X, praising officers for their “firmness, speed and control.”

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Assault rifles, handguns and explosives were also seized.

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The robbery took place as French police on Thursday arrested five more people, including a prime suspect, over this month’s brazen Louvre museum robbery.

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Dozens of detectives have been hunting for four thieves who used a truck with a moving lift and cutting gear to break into a first-floor gallery at the museum on Oct. 19, fleeing with jewellery worth an estimated US$102 million.

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In another high-profile break-in, thieves last month broke into the French capital’s Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples worth more than US$1 million. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested this month in Barcelona over that break-in and theft, prosecutors said.

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The string of robberies has stoked concern about inadequate security at museums and other places holding high-value items.

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