French police arrest six over armed robbery at gold laboratory

Lyon: Six people armed with military grade weapons used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon on Thursday, slightly injuring fiv...

Lyon: Six people armed with military-grade weapons used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon on Thursday, slightly injuring five employees in France's latest high-profile daytime heist.

The audacious raid in the eastern city took place on Thursday afternoon, with police quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the loot estimated at 12 million euros ($13.8 million), officials said.

Five employees of Pourquery Laboratories were "slightly injured in the explosion" and three were taken to hospital for checks, the regional prefecture told AFP.

Twenty-eight employees were present when the robbers struck.

Members of the French Brigade de Recherche et d'Intervention (BRI - Research and Intervention Brigade) police unit check the scene of a robbery at a gold refining laboratory in Lyon, central-eastern France, on October 30, 2025. Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP