http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/world/europe/kim-kardashian-robbed.html 2016-10-03 20:43:22 After Armed Robbery of Kim Kardashian, France Fields Questions Officials in Paris promised an investigation into the attack on the TV star, who has robbed of $9 million in jewelry but was not physically injured. === PARIS — Just after midnight on Monday, With her sister Kourtney Kardashian, she posed for some paparazzi waiting outside. Along with a bodyguard, they entered a dark van with tinted windows and drove off. About two and a half hours later, French officials said, Ms. Kardashian West, a reality television star, was robbed at gunpoint of jewelry worth at least 8 million euros, or nearly $9 million. She was alone in a luxurious apartment in the Eighth Arrondissement, nearly two miles from the dinner, when two men burst in, tied her up and gagged her, then escaped with at least three accomplices, officials said. The crime stunned fans of Ms. Kardashian West, who has millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram. Her husband, the singer Crucial details remained unclear on Monday, including why Ms. Kardashian West was alone and why she was carrying such valuable jewelry. But police officials and the mayor of Paris vowed to get to the bottom of the crime and to reassure their citizens, and foreigners, that the French capital was safe to visit. “I condemn the attack Laurent Riquart, a spokesman for the investigative unit of the Paris police, said the men were part of a group of about five people who stormed Luc Poignant, a spokesman for a police officers’ union, said the men locked Ms. Kardashian West in a bathroom after tying her up with tape. Along with the jewelry, which included a ring, they made off with cellphones and a wallet that contained credit cards. Three of the men left on foot, and two on bikes, he said. The men had targeted their victim — they forced the concierge to tell them where Ms. Kardashian West was staying, and tied his hands. The men appeared to have worn shirts identifying themselves as police officers — but also balaclavas and gloves, which are not part of the police uniform. Ms. Kardashian West was “badly shaken but physically unharmed,” her spokeswoman Foreign tourism to France has dropped substantially after major terrorism “This is a very rare occurrence that took place in a private space, and in no way does it call into question the work of our police or the security of our public spaces,” Ms. Hidalgo, the mayor, said on Monday. “It is possible to visit the French capital and enjoy all it has to offer in secure conditions.” Nonetheless, the attack on Ms. Kardashian West quickly became political fodder on Monday. Presidential elections are scheduled for next year, and the incumbent, François Hollande of the Socialist Party, is expected to face a stiff challenge from right-wing candidates who are competing with Mr. Hollande to appear tough on crime. “What happened to her is running nonstop on every channel,” Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, a member of the National Assembly with the center-right opposition party, the Republicans, told the radio station Europe1. “Do you realize the kind of anti-commercial this is for Paris? Today, you can make any kind of commercial you want for Paris, and they are very expensive. All these commercials were canceled out by what happened to Kim Kardashian.” On Twitter, Florian Philippot, the vice president of the right-wing National Front party, Ms. Hidalgo, for her part, warned politicians not to exploit the issue for political gain. High-profile crimes are not uncommon in France, which by many estimates remains the world’s most-visited country. In 2013, a thief Only a few days ago, Ms. Kardashian West was tackled in a Paris street by a man who was pinned to the ground by her bodyguards. The man, On Sunday evening, Ms. Kardashian West attended the Givenchy fashion show with her sister Kourtney and their mother, Kris Jenner, and the rock singer Courtney Love, before making her way to the dinner, which was hosted by the American design magazine Surface in honor of the designer “I just can’t believe it,” said Pierre Hardy, who designs footwear and accessories for Hermès and attended the dinner. “There she was with all of us, and then hours later that happens. It’s unbelievable.” Another guest at the dinner, Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, the She added: “There’s no question in my mind that this will play heavily on the mind of shoppers and travelers from the Gulf when it comes to visiting in Paris. Lots wear their jewelry very openly here. They shop. And have always felt very safe doing so. But when something like this can happen, and to someone with such a good security detail, well — it’s a big surprise. And it’s very frightening.”