Thieves steal Paris street art in broad daylight

The ‘Space Invader’ mosaics, which are common on the walls of the capital city, are well-known pieces from French street artist Invader (real name Franck Slama).

Despite technically being ‘vandalism’, they are usually left in peace once they appear, as an act of goodwill towards the artist and in honour of their well-known place as part of the city’s culture.

However, they are now threatened with extinction after two men wearing high-visibility jackets have been seen posing as employees of the town hall and taking the artworks down in broad daylight, under the pretext of removing them on the order of the council.

Once finished, the duo escapes with the mosaic pieces in a Mercedes car, according to witness reports in French newspaper Le Parisien.

The Mairie of Paris has confirmed that “the town has not asked for the removal of these works”, and that the men appear to be stealing them without authorisation.

The Mairie of the 13th arrondissement has lamented the thefts, calling them a “real problem”, and explaining that one owner of a building featuring a mosaic has placed an anti-theft device on it, to dissuade the perpetrators.

Affronted members of the public have taken to social media to raise awareness of the thefts, and have posted photos of the thieves “at work” in a bid to help others spot them in future.

This is not the first time that Invader’s artworks have been under threat; in 2013 two people were seen with a stepladder and tools, attempting to unstick one of the famous mosaics.

The artist made an official complaint against them and sued for damages of 18 000 euros, after claiming that the artwork had been stolen with a view to be resold. Despite this, he lost his case after the judge said there was no evidence the perpetrators planned to re-sell the art.