Arrests made in theft of Banksy's Paris artworkFrench authorities say they've arrested six people in connection to a work stolen from the Bataclan night club in 2019. The image, stenciled on a door, turned up in Italy two weeks ago.



French authorities said on Saturday they had arrested six people in connection with the theft of an artwork by British street artist Banksy.

The stenciled image of a veiled girl with head bowed in mourning was first spotted on an emergency exit door at Paris' Bataclan concert hall in June 2018, and was stolen the following January.

The Bataclan was targeted by "Islamic State" (IS) extremists as part of a coordinated terrorist attack that killed 90 people at the club, and 130 in total during a series of attacks across Paris on November 13, 2015.

When the work was stolen, the Bataclan took to Twitter to announce "profound indignation," calling the piece "a symbol of memory and belonging for everyone — locals, Parisians, citizens of the world."

At a June 11 press conference, Italian authorities announced they had located the stolen mural at a farmhouse in the central Italian region of Abruzzo.

Door cut off hinges

Though it is known that a group of hooded individuals used portable angle grinders to cut the door off its hinges and speed it away from the concert hall in a waiting van, it is not known how the door made its way to the Italian farmhouse, or why.


French authorities say six individuals are currently being held in pre-trial detention after arrests in the southeastern French regions of Isere and Upper Savoy over the past week.

Two of the suspects are being held for the theft, while the other four stand accused of accessory to theft.

The search for the painting has been ongoing across Europe since its disappearance. Speaking with the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica, Aquila District Prosecutor Michele Renzi said: "The discovery was made possible by investigations conducted by the district prosecutor in collaboration with the police and French investigators."

Banksy, an anonymous art world phenom, has created a number of murals around the globe, many of them in Paris. Though ostensibly a street artist, those works of Banksy's that do make it to auction have regularly sold for millions of dollars.

js/mm (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

France arrests six over theft of Banksy artwork from Bataclan
Issued on: 27/06/2020 -

Italian Carabinieri military police stand by a mural attributed to British street artist Banksy that was stolen from the Bataclan theatre in Paris, where Islamist militants killed 90 people in 2015, after it was found in a farmhouse in central Italy, in L'Aquila, Italy, June 11, 2020. via REUTERS - UFFICIO STAMPA CARABINIERI

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Six people have been arrested in France over the theft of an artwork by street artist Banksy commemorating the victims of the 2015 Paris attacks that was stolen from the Bataclan concert hall, sources said Saturday.

The suspects were arrested across France this week after the artwork, an image of a girl in mourning painted on one of the Paris venue's emergency doors, was found in Italy earlier in the month, judicial and police sources told AFP.

Two were charged with theft while the other four were charged with concealing theft, the sources added. All six were placed in pre-trial detention.

The door with the artwork was cut out and taken in January last year at the Bataclan, where Islamic State gunmen massacred 90 people in 2015.

French and Italian police said on June 10 this year that they found the work in an abandoned farmhouse in Italy's central east Abruzzo region.

Good news! A stolen #Bansky was just recovered!
Art should be accessible to all, not stolen.
In a tribute to the Bataclan victims in Paris, Banksy's art called for dignity & respect, not greed.
Join the fight against illicit trafficking https://t.co/HLHkjcgTJc #ShareCulture pic.twitter.com/dmlehCr8Rf— Lara Palmisano (@larapalmisano) June 26, 2020

One of the French policeman who intervened in the 2015 Bataclan attack was present when the door was found, and was overcome with emotion, according to the French crime unit.

Works by Banksy, known for their distinctive style, irreverent humour and thought-provoking themes, have been found on walls, buildings and bridges from the West Bank to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.

At auction, they have sold for more than $1 million.

(AFP)