<p>A silver steward at the French presidential palace is facing charges of stealing “heritage property” after about a hundred precious silverware and tableware items went missing and were discovered in his locker, car and home, French prosecutors say.</p><p>The objects that disappeared from the Élysée Palace collection — including copper pots, Sèvres porcelain, a René Lalique figurine and Baccarat Champagne glasses — were returned after the investigation, according to the prosecutors.</p><p>The disclosure comes after a series of crimes that have rattled the French, including the Louvre heist in October and a theft at the Museum of Natural History in Paris in September.</p><p>The thefts from the presidential palace were neither a brazen daylight robbery, as at the museum, nor a stealthy overnight burglary, but an inside job, prosecutors say.</p>.Paris' Louvre staff votes to extend strike, leaving museum closed: Reports.<p>They were discovered after one of the stewards at the Élysée reported the disappearance of items with an estimated value of between 15,000 and 40,000 euros (about $17,000 to $47,000), a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told The New York Times in response to an inquiry Sunday.</p><p>Officials at the Sèvres manufactory, France’s state-owned porcelain factory, then spotted some of their unique items being auctioned online, including a plate with an air force stamp and ashtrays that are not available to the general public.</p><p>After interviews with members of the palace staff, prosecutors said, suspicion fell on one of the “argentiers,” or silver stewards, whose job is to care for the palace tables’ finery.</p><p>The steward had been overseeing “decreasing inventories,” according to prosecutors, and was in a relationship with the manager of an online auction company that is well known for selling tableware, with the two apparently sharing a home where some of the missing objects were found. They were arrested Tuesday and appeared in court Thursday. Another suspect, accused of being a fence, or the recipient of stolen goods, has also been charged.</p><p>A trial has been set for late February on charges of the theft of movable heritage property, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and 150,000 euros in fines and aggravated receipt of stolen property, which has a potential penalty of seven years in prison and 150,000 euros in fines.</p><p>The suspects were placed on supervised release pending trial and, in the meantime, are prohibited from going to their jobs and using auction sites, among other restrictions, prosecutors said.</p><p>According to the Élysée, argentiers are unique to the palace. They are responsible for the upkeep of all the silverware, tableware and crystal; set the tables; and wash the pieces by hand after the meal to preserve them. Many of the items are more than a century old. The palace website notes that the United Nations has recognised the French art of dining as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.</p><p>There are job openings for Élysée argentiers available now.</p>
<p>A silver steward at the French presidential palace is facing charges of stealing “heritage property” after about a hundred precious silverware and tableware items went missing and were discovered in his locker, car and home, French prosecutors say.</p><p>The objects that disappeared from the Élysée Palace collection — including copper pots, Sèvres porcelain, a René Lalique figurine and Baccarat Champagne glasses — were returned after the investigation, according to the prosecutors.</p><p>The disclosure comes after a series of crimes that have rattled the French, including the Louvre heist in October and a theft at the Museum of Natural History in Paris in September.</p><p>The thefts from the presidential palace were neither a brazen daylight robbery, as at the museum, nor a stealthy overnight burglary, but an inside job, prosecutors say.</p>.Paris' Louvre staff votes to extend strike, leaving museum closed: Reports.<p>They were discovered after one of the stewards at the Élysée reported the disappearance of items with an estimated value of between 15,000 and 40,000 euros (about $17,000 to $47,000), a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told The New York Times in response to an inquiry Sunday.</p><p>Officials at the Sèvres manufactory, France’s state-owned porcelain factory, then spotted some of their unique items being auctioned online, including a plate with an air force stamp and ashtrays that are not available to the general public.</p><p>After interviews with members of the palace staff, prosecutors said, suspicion fell on one of the “argentiers,” or silver stewards, whose job is to care for the palace tables’ finery.</p><p>The steward had been overseeing “decreasing inventories,” according to prosecutors, and was in a relationship with the manager of an online auction company that is well known for selling tableware, with the two apparently sharing a home where some of the missing objects were found. They were arrested Tuesday and appeared in court Thursday. Another suspect, accused of being a fence, or the recipient of stolen goods, has also been charged.</p><p>A trial has been set for late February on charges of the theft of movable heritage property, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and 150,000 euros in fines and aggravated receipt of stolen property, which has a potential penalty of seven years in prison and 150,000 euros in fines.</p><p>The suspects were placed on supervised release pending trial and, in the meantime, are prohibited from going to their jobs and using auction sites, among other restrictions, prosecutors said.</p><p>According to the Élysée, argentiers are unique to the palace. They are responsible for the upkeep of all the silverware, tableware and crystal; set the tables; and wash the pieces by hand after the meal to preserve them. Many of the items are more than a century old. The palace website notes that the United Nations has recognised the French art of dining as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.</p><p>There are job openings for Élysée argentiers available now.</p>