A sharply dressed man outside the Louvre became the internet’s idea of a real-life detective after the museum’s jewel heist, but the photographer behind the image says he was simply a passerby.
The photo, captured by Associated Press photographer Thibault Camus, shows officers blocking access to the Galerie d’Apollon, where thieves stole royal jewelry of “inestimable” value on Sunday, October 19. In the background, a man in a fedora and suit strides past the scene, looking like he stepped out of a noir film.
Posts on X (formerly Twitter) claiming he was “a real French detective” investigating the crime racked up millions of views, but Camus told The New York Times that’s not the case.
Who is this viral ‘detective?’
“I don’t know him,” Camus said. “Maybe a tourist? Maybe he is English. He appeared in front of me, I saw him, I took the photo. He passed by and left.”
Camus explained that it was the man’s “old-fashioned” style that drew his eye — “old-fashioned like a museum can be,” he added.
The Paris prosecutor’s office declined to clarify the man’s identity, telling the AP it would “rather keep the mystery alive”. But so far, there’s no evidence he’s involved in the investigation.
Some believe the photo was never real to begin with, claiming the photo must have been generated by AI. However, Camus stated the photos circulating on the internet were too high in resolution to be fake. He clarified that AI struggles to generate images at the same level of resolution as a camera. AP also shared a few more photos of the dapper lad. Generating multiple images of the same thing is another feat that modern AI struggles with.
Even so, the image has turned the unnamed passerby into an internet myth — a fleeting moment that made the world believe the Louvre still had detectives in trench coats chasing jewel thieves.
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