The women’s chauffeur-driven Bentley limousine had just picked them up from Paris’s Le Bourget airport when a following car forced the Bentley off the motorway and into a breakdown bay.

Several masked men pumped the limo full of tear-gas and then made off with luggage containing jewellery and clothing worth EUR5million – with not one passing motorist stopping to assist the women and their chauffeur.

French gendarmes said they were shocked but not surprised at the heist, as wealthy foreigners were often targets for robberies on the congested and slowly-moving motorways.

Just weeks ago, they said, a company CEO was bailed-up in his taxi from Le Bourget and robbed of personal items worth EUR100,000 (nearly AU$142,000).

Also recently, three robbers forced the car of a Korean art collector off the same motorway and stole EUR4million (nearly AU$5.7 million) worth of jewellery he had with him.

The previous year, a Saudi prince's convoy was attacked by at least eight robbers driving BMWs as it made its way from central Paris to Le Bourget airport.

Earlier last month, Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat was punched and sprayed with tear gas, as she and her partner were ambushed by three masked attackers in the lobby of an apartment where they were staying in the city.

And they also pointed out that armed robbers in October had stalked American TV star Kim Kardashian who was visiting Paris.

They then broken into her hotel room where they bound, gagged and locked her in her bathroom, and made off with US$11million (AU$15million) worth of jewellery.

As it turned out, the men dropped a stunning US$33,000 (AU$44,000) diamond necklace while making their escape from Kardashian’s room, and it was found next morning… bizarrely still on the pavement outside the hotel.