The police are investigating a break-in and intrusion at the Alpine base.

      French police are investigating a puzzling case involving a break-in at Alpine’s engine manufacturing facility in Viry-Châtillon. The most mysterious aspect is that nothing was stolen from the site.

      The break-in occurred on Monday at around 10 p.m. local time. French newspaper Le Parisien reports that two men smashed a window in the lobby and then went straight to the management offices on the upper floor.

      Doors to several offices were forced open, and apparently the intruders were familiar with the layout of the facility. In the preliminary investigation the police found no material damage and determined that nothing had been stolen.

      A Le Parisien source said: “Nothing was stolen, everything is fine. There were no employees on the premises at the time of the incident.”

      Forensic experts who arrived at the scene collected evidence and are now trying to determine what exactly the intruders were looking for. With theft ruled out, police are considering other possibilities, including industrial espionage.