Police arrest Valentino store robbery suspect in Paris

Paris police on Tuesday fished a man out of the Seine river, which he jumped into after he rammed a car into a Valentino store and robbed dozens of luxury handbags.

The 24-year-old suspect smashed into the store around 2:00 am on the high-end Rue Saint-Honore, a police source said.

He grabbed as many as 30 luxury handbags and other items before attempting to flee in the car.

The man then failed to stop when a police patrol gave chase after spotting him near the central Paris opera.

He abandoned the car on Place de la Concorde at the end of the Champs-Elysees avenue, the police source said, before plunging into the nearby river Seine.

But water-borne officers quickly recovered him and placed him under arrest. A source familiar with the case said that the "entirety" of the stolen items had been found.

A second source told AFP that "around 30" handbags -- which Valentino lists on its website at between 1,000 and 3,000 euros (1,013 to 3,040 dollars) -- were found in his car.

The suspect now faces an investigation for charges including aggravated robbery and refusal to comply with police, Paris prosecutors said.(AFP)