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 keeping 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 instances and escaped on scooters inside minutes.
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 keeping with Le Parisien. Surveillance footage reportedly exhibits 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 have 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 an announcement.
Forensic groups are actually compiling a list of what was taken. The Paris prosecutor’s workplace confirmed that an investigation has been opened and that “the extent of the losses is at present 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 get together, referred to as the theft “an insupportable humiliation for our nation,” including on the social media platform X: “The Louvre is a world image of our tradition. How far will the decay of the state go?”
The incident comes amid rising safety issues at France’s most visited museum. In June, Louvre employees staged a walkout over overcrowding and continual 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 practically 9 million guests a 12 months, with as much as 30,000 each day.
France has confronted a wave of museum thefts in current 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 brought on an estimated $7 million in losses. “Organized crime at this time is concentrating on artwork objects,” Rachida Dati, France’s tradition minister, mentioned. “Museums have develop into targets.”
