Paris court jails ex-Élysée silverware keeper for porcelain theft ring

Published on 16/04/2026 - 18:48 GMT+2

A Paris court handed a former silverware keeper at France's presidential palace a two-year prison sentence on Thursday for stealing hundreds of thousands of euros worth of luxury items between 2023 and 2025.

Thomas M. was ordered to wear an electronic tag for a year, with the second year suspended, for stealing exclusive tableware and other items worth nearly €400,000, the court ruled.

He was also fined €10,000 and barred from working in a similar position and from setting foot in an auction house ever again.

His partner, Damien G., was also sentenced to two years. He was ordered to wear an electronic tag for eight months, with the remaining 16 months suspended.

The couple sold most of the stolen items via a Vinted business account and on Facebook, and said they had pocketed around €15,000 in profit.

A third man, Ghislain M., who bought nearly 80 of the items, was given a one-year suspended prison sentence.

The case came to light last year when the Sevres national porcelain manufacturer, which makes many of the valuable plates for the presidential palace, saw some of the items listed on auction sites.

Investigations quickly focused on Thomas M., a contract worker in the Élysée's silverware department since 2020 and the only staff member with direct access to the warehouse keys.

According to the manufacturer, the estimated value of the items was €377,370, a sum the defence described as "absurd."

During the trial in February, the former maître d'hôtel said he had stolen the objects for their beauty, but decided to sell them to pay off heavy debts.