at the heart of the heist of the century at the Carlton in Cannes

Rivers of diamonds, pendants, necklaces, rings, an exceptional set of jewelry, for a total value of 103 million euros. This is the amount of the biggest robbery in French history at the Carlton in Cannes. In July 2013, the hotel exhibited 72 pieces of rare beauty from an Israeli jeweler. Three guards come out of a chest located at the reception the jewels in a bag. Heading west of the palace, they are unaware that an armed man is watching them from the street.

A failure in hotel security?

In the showroom, they arrange the pieces under protected glass. The robber opens a strangely unlocked window door and steals the jewelry. He only takes a few seconds to commit his misdeed. He escapes through another window, jumping 1m50, he drops a paycheck from his loot. Even today, no one knows where the jewels are. But at the time already, the question of the failure in the security of the establishment was posed. “I am flabbergasted, because I find the jewelry store and our management even more irresponsible for not having taken the lead and ensured greater security”, explained a trade unionist at the hotel. The insurer compensated the jeweler, but it turned against the management of the Carlton for lack of protection. The Cannes court will decide tomorrow about the case of the century.