Overview
- Three machete-wielding men stormed an SFR store in Paris’s 20e arrondissement at about 6:30 p.m. and fled with around 30 phones valued at €45,000
- Two suspects in the Paris robbery were arrested hours later and placed in custody on charges of extortion under threat of a weapon
- In Flins-sur-Seine, two men disguised as Chronopost delivery personnel used tear gas to force open a Bouygues Telecom safe and escaped with roughly 100 Apple and Samsung phones
- No physical injuries were reported in either incident, but employees and customers have reported lasting psychological distress from the threats
- Authorities are probing both heists and a broader surge in armed raids on mobile phone shops across Île-de-France