'Cols Rouges' sentenced in Paris
September 7 2016
Picture: Lesechos.fr
A long-running case over theft and corruption at the Paris auction centre, Drouot, has concluded with jail sentences for the ringleaders of the Cols Rouges thieves. The Cols Rouges were the porters at the Drouot, and were marked out by their red collars. The had a monopoly on who could handle art for the various auctions that took place there. It turns out that items would regularly 'get lost' from sales, and that some of the Cols Rouges were casually helping themselves to goodies, including in one case a painting by Gustave Courbet. More here.
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