Precious items from the Élysée Palace, such as Sèvres porcelain and Baccarat champagne flutes, were stolen and offered for sale online on Vinted. Three men are implicated in this amateur pillaging that occurred over at least two years. The damage is estimated between 15,000 and 40,000 euros.
The case began with an internal alert at the Élysée. The general steward noticed the repeated disappearance of items displayed in the palace or from table services used for official dinners. These objects, stored in the reserves on the first floor of the west wing, include Sèvres porcelain, Baccarat champagne flutes, and a René Lalique statuette.
The Sèvres manufacture, the palace's historic supplier, quickly identified several suspicious items offered for sale on specialized sites, including Vinted. Interviews with staff directed the investigation toward a trio: a Versailles collector named Ghislain M., the Élysée's maître d'hôtel argentier, and a receiver who worked as a guard at the Louvre.
The three men confessed to the gendarmes of having stolen and received over a hundred pieces of Sèvres porcelain. This theft and receiving, described as amateur, spanned at least two years. Almost all the stolen pieces have since been returned to the Élysée.
The total damage is estimated between 15,000 and 40,000 euros. The suspects have been brought before the courts for these acts, highlighting a discreet but systematic pillaging of presidential goods.
