Mystery man in a photo after Louvre heist creates a buzz

It was shortly after the stunning heist of the crown jewels at the Louvre when Paris-based AP photog Thibault Camus caught in his frame a dapperly dressed young man walking by uniformed French police officers, their car blocking one of the museum gates.

Camus figured, the guy walking past the officers was unusually well dressed, in a trench coat, a jacket and tie and wearing a fedora, adding a touch of Paris couture to the scene. From there, fertile imaginations sprung into high gear - whipping up an online buzz.




Posts on social media declared the well-dressed man to be a French detective - if you will, a more dashing version of the famed Inspector Clouseau from "Pink Panther" movies - even though AP's photo caption had not identified him. A post on X says: "Actual shot (not AI!) of a French detective working the case of the French Crown Jewels that were stolen from the Louvre." If the man really is one of the investigators, the authorities are keeping it very hush-hush. "We'd rather keep the mystery alive ;)" the prosecutor's office said with a wink in an email response to questions.