As Kim Kardashian West recovers after being robbed of £8m worth of jewels in Paris, we look at some of France's most notorious gem robberies.

:: Biggest French robbery ever

In July 2013 thieves attacked an exhibition of "Extraordinary Diamonds" at Cannes' luxury Carlton hotel.

The gang made off with jewels worth an estimated €103m (£89m) that were being exhibited by Israeli billionaire Lev Avnerovich, including pink and yellow diamonds, and emeralds and sapphires.

The robbery is one of many blamed on the "Pink Panther" gang, which Interpol says has snatched jewels worth more than £280m since 1999.


Image: The Carlton Hotel in Cannes, scene of France's biggest robbery

:: Armed gang pounce on French Riviera

Beverly Hills billionaire and oil magnate Marvin Davis and his wife were robbed of cash and jewellery worth an estimated €8.5m (£7.42m) after four armed men blocked their limousine on a road near Antibes in 1993.

According to police, the couple's bodyguard that was following them in another vehicle became held up in traffic, allowing the gang to pounce and overpower their chauffeur before forcing them to hand over the loot.

Image: Kristina Chernovetska, a year before the reported handbag theft

:: Handbag packed with jewellery 'snatched' in Paris

A handbag containing jewellery worth €4.5m (£3.92m) was reportedly snatched from the daughter of the Mayor of Kiev while she was in Paris in 2010.

Kristina Chernovetska was travelling from Charles De Gaulle airport in a chauffeur-driven car when a man was said to have approached the vehicle and grabbed her handbag.

A spokeswoman for Ms Chernovetska's father, Leonid, later denied the robbery, insisting his daughter had been in Ukraine at the time.

Kim's bling stolen in armed robbery

:: Harry Winston jewellers

With some of the gang dressed as women and wearing wigs, the exclusive Champs-Elysees store was stripped of rings, necklaces and watches worth £74m in December 2008.

The window display and back room storage were both cleaned out during the raid - the second in a year.

Employees were coshed over the head with handguns by the robbers who referred to them by name. Although millions of pounds of the loot was found in a drain in a Paris suburb in 2011, most remains missing.

Eight men were jailed for the robbery in 2014.