Skilled thieves stole jewels of “incalculable” worth—together with items as soon as belonging to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie—in a brazen daylight theft on the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, in line with French officers and a New York Occasions report.
Inside Minister Laurent Nuñez advised France Inter radio that the thieves struck round 9:30 a.m., utilizing a cherry picker and an angle grinder to interrupt by means of a window of the Galerie d’Apollon, the grand first-floor gallery that homes France’s crown jewels. The group smashed open two show circumstances and escaped on scooters inside minutes.
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Each Le Parisien and Le Monde reported that the heist lasted between seven and ten minutes.
The robbers—believed to be three masked males—used “small chainsaws” to breach the window, in line with Le Parisien. Surveillance footage reportedly reveals them fleeing towards the A6 freeway, which runs southeast out of Paris. A 3rd scooter was later discovered deserted.
Among the many 9 items reportedly stolen had been a necklace, a brooch, and a tiara thought to have belonged to Empress Eugénie. One broken crown—believed to be hers—was found exterior the gallery. “Past their market worth, the gadgets have inestimable heritage and historic worth,” the Inside Ministry mentioned in a press release.
Forensic groups are actually compiling a listing of what was taken. The Paris prosecutor’s workplace confirmed that an investigation has been opened and that “the extent of the losses is presently being assessed.” Police are reviewing video footage and objects deserted by the thieves.
Police advised reporters that nobody was injured within the raid and that “all means are being carried out to recuperate the loot.” The Louvre mentioned it remained closed Sunday “to protect traces and clues for the investigation.”
The theft has ignited political outrage. Jordan Bardella, president of the right-wing Nationwide Rally social gathering, called the theft “an insupportable humiliation for our nation,” including on the social media platform X: “The Louvre is a worldwide image of our tradition. How far will the decay of the state go?”
The incident comes amid growing security concerns at France’s most visited museum. In June, Louvre workers staged a walkout over overcrowding and power understaffing, with unions warning that mass tourism was placing security in danger.
The Galerie d’Apollon, overlooking the Seine, additionally homes treasures as soon as owned by Louis XIV, together with the 140-carat Regent Diamond. The Louvre—dwelling to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—attracts almost 9 million guests a 12 months, with as much as 30,000 each day.
France has confronted a wave of museum thefts in latest months. In September, thieves stole gold nuggets price $700,000 from Paris’s Pure Historical past Museum, whereas a theft at a porcelain museum in Limoges precipitated an estimated $7 million in losses. “Organized crime as we speak is concentrating on artwork objects,” Rachida Dati, France’s tradition minister, mentioned. “Museums have turn out to be targets.”
