Paris thieves steal $100m jewels

One of Paris's most prestigious jewellery shops has been robbed of at least 80m euros ($102m, £70m) worth of jewels, police say.

As many as four robbers, some dressed as women, stormed Harry Winston's store near the Champs-Elysee and stole nearly all of its valuables.

They seemed well informed and knew the names of some of the shop's staff, police say.

The store was hit by another robbery almost exactly a year ago.

Armed robbers then stole an estimated 10m euros ($13m) worth of valuables.

Staff hurt

The BBC's Alasdair Sandford, in Paris, says the latest robbery is one of the country's most serious robberies for decades.

Around 10 people and 15 staff were in the store on late Thursday afternoon when the robbers entered.

Police said some were disguised as women, and appeared to know their way around - addressing some of the staff by their names and identifying where stock not on display was being stored.

They overturned display cases and emptied the shop of nearly all its stock. Some of the staff were said to have been hurt in the robbery.

Harry Winston is situated on the fashionable Avenue Montaigne and attracts a wealthy clientele from around the world, from royalty to film stars.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7766850.stm