Suspects in the brazen daylight heist of some of France's crown jewels from the Louvre have been arrested near Paris as one of them was about to fly out of the country, a French prosecutor says.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the story, two men in their 30s and originally from the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of the French capital were arrested on Saturday evening.

They were known to French police, and one of the suspects was about to depart Charles de Gaulle airport for Algeria, the newspaper said.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not say how many people were arrested or give any more detail on their profile.

In a statement, she deplored the fact information about their arrest was leaked.

"This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the 100 or so

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