My source, derived from a poor videotape (possibly the Huntley Archives) claims this was directed by Gaston Bretteau in 1900, like the similar BURGLAR ON THE ROOF from Edison. I have no particular opinion; Hatot was still doing tableau vivante movies, but since this isn't what anyone today would call a chase, I don't find any position compelling.The reason I don't think of it as a chase movie is that it's shot in a single, minute-long, take of a mansard roof. Burglars clamber about it, then are surrounded by climbing policemen. It's not so much a chase as a capture, but the film makers thought this a better title. I agree.It was hard, if not impossible, to shoot anything like a chase in 1898, with its fixed camera and focal length, and single shot. The earliest movie that seems like a chase to my modern eye is James Williamson's STOP, THIEF! from 1901. However, I am keeping my eye and mind open to earlier examples.